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    <title>Ben's bookshelf: all</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Ben's bookshelf: all]]></description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:05:27 -0700</lastBuildDate>
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      <title>Ben's bookshelf: all</title>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/846880874?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:05:27 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Honor&apos;s Knight (Paradox, #2)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/846880874?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17866699</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The rollicking sequel to Fortune's Pawn -- an action packed science fiction novel. <b>Devi Morris has a lot of problems. And not the fun, easy-to-shoot kind either.</b> After a mysterious attack left her short several memories and one partner, she's determined to keep her head down, do her job, and get on with her life. But even though Devi's not actually looking for it -- trouble keeps finding her. She sees things no one else can, the black stain on her hands is growing, and she is entangled with the cook she's supposed to hate. But when a deadly crisis exposes far more of the truth than she bargained for, Devi discovers there's worse fates than being shot, and sometimes the only people you can trust are the ones who want you dead.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17866699">
      <num_pages>358</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Rachel Bach</author_name>
    <isbn>0316221082</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 1 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:05:27 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 06 Feb 2014 13:31:36 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[giveaway, treebooks, books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2014, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Note: I won this book in a contest.<br /><br />Like Fortune's Pawn, Honor's Knight is a fast-paced book filled with action and thrills. And, like with Fortune's Pawn, it just didn't connect with me on a deeper level.<br /><br />There's something about protagonists like Devi (I feel similar about Joe Ledger) that's hard for me to connect with. I think it has to do with the type of warrior characters they are. Their drives and brokenness are things I have a hard time identifying with. Give me William Mandella or Breq.<br /><br />The secrets and big ideas Bach puts forward are a lot of fun, though, and I'm curious to see where things will go in the next book. Books like this also make me appreciate some romance in my stories.<br /><br />But there is this nagging bit I got toward the end. There were some actions and plot elements that just didn't seem to make sense for the characters making them or the events that led there. That sort of thing is always disappointing.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17866699-honor-s-knight?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Honor&#39;s Knight (Paradox, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1396522588l/17866699._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Rachel Bach<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.02<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/04/01<br/>
                                      date added: 2026/07/26<br/>
                                      shelves: giveaway, treebooks, books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2014, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Note: I won this book in a contest.<br /><br />Like Fortune's Pawn, Honor's Knight is a fast-paced book filled with action and thrills. And, like with Fortune's Pawn, it just didn't connect with me on a deeper level.<br /><br />There's something about protagonists like Devi (I feel similar about Joe Ledger) that's hard for me to connect with. I think it has to do with the type of warrior characters they are. Their drives and brokenness are things I have a hard time identifying with. Give me William Mandella or Breq.<br /><br />The secrets and big ideas Bach puts forward are a lot of fun, though, and I'm curious to see where things will go in the next book. Books like this also make me appreciate some romance in my stories.<br /><br />But there is this nagging bit I got toward the end. There were some actions and plot elements that just didn't seem to make sense for the characters making them or the events that led there. That sort of thing is always disappointing.<br/>
                                      ]]>
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  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1085673608?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 06 Jun 2026 03:52:58 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Zero Sum Game (Russell's Attic, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1085673608?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>21466216</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good.<br /><br />The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight. She can take any job for the right price and shoot anyone who gets in her way.<br /><br />As far as she knows, she's the only person around with a superpower . . . but then Cas discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people's minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world's puppet master.<br /><br />Someone who's already warped Cas's thoughts once before, with her none the wiser.<br /><br />Cas should run. Going up against a psychic with a god complex isn't exactly a rational move, and saving the world from a power-hungry telepath isn't her responsibility. But she isn't about to let anyone get away with violating her brain -- and besides, she's got a small arsenal and some deadly mathematics on her side. There's only one problem . . .<br /><br />She doesn't know which of her thoughts are her own anymore.]]></book_description>
    <book id="21466216">
      <num_pages>305</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>S.L. Huang</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 06 Jun 2026 03:52:58 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 21 Oct 2014 07:45:40 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
    <book_published></book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21466216-zero-sum-game?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Zero Sum Game (Russell&#39;s Attic, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394905448l/21466216._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: S.L. Huang<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.86<br/>
                                      book published: <br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2026/06/06<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/384766579?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:53:44 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Neuromancer (Sprawl #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/384766579?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22328</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1167348726l/22328._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Case was the best interface cowboy who ever ran in Earth’s computer matrix. Then he double-crossed the <i>wrong</i> people…]]></book_description>
    <book id="22328">
      <num_pages>271</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>William Gibson</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:53:44 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:15:06 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[science-fiction, classics, five-star-fiction, books-first-read-before-goodreads]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.87</average_rating>
    <book_published>1984</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22328.Neuromancer?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Neuromancer (Sprawl #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1167348726l/22328._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: William Gibson<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.87<br/>
                                      book published: 1984<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/10/05<br/>
                                      shelves: science-fiction, classics, five-star-fiction, books-first-read-before-goodreads<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4533682152?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:10:25 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4533682152?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>325785</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Capital</i>, one of Marx's major and most influential works, was the product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode of production in England, the most advanced industrial society of his day. This new translation of <i>Volume One</i>, the only volume to be completed and edited by Marx himself, avoids some of the mistakes that have marred earlier versions and seeks to do justice to the literary qualities of the work. The introduction is by Ernest Mandel, author of <i>Late Capitalism</i>, one of the only comprehensive attempts to develop the theoretical legacy of Capital.]]></book_description>
    <book id="325785">
      <num_pages>1152</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Karl Marx</author_name>
    <isbn>0140445684</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:10:25 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 06 Feb 2022 14:59:49 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
    <book_published>1867</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/325785.Capital?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1718913375l/325785._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Karl Marx<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.30<br/>
                                      book published: 1867<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/09/04<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2266336785?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:57:42 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Devil in Silver</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2266336785?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>16008607</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347667679l/16008607._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Pepper is a rambunctious big man, and, suddenly, the surprised inmate of a budget-strapped mental institution in Queens, New York. He's not mentally ill, but that doesn't seem to matter. On his first night, he's visited by a terrifying creature who nearly kills him before being hustled away by the hospital staff. It's no delusion: The other patients confirm that a hungry devil roams the hallways when the sun goes down. Pepper rallies three other inmates in a plot to fight back: Dorry, an octogenarian schizophrenic; Coffee, an African immigrant with severe OCD; and Loochie, a bipolar teenage girl. Battling the pill-pushing staff, one another, and their own minds, they try to kill the monster that's stalking them. But can the Devil die?]]></book_description>
    <book id="16008607">
      <num_pages>14</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Victor LaValle</author_name>
    <isbn>161120853X</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:57:42 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 21 Jan 2018 01:32:30 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[audiobook, library-book, books-first-read-in-2018, thriller, horror]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I liked this. It wasn't what I was expecting, in a couple ways.<br /><br />After finally reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26883558.The_Ballad_of_Black_Tom" title="The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle" rel="nofollow noopener">The Ballad of Black Tom</a>, I wanted to read more from LaValle. This was available on OverDrive, so this is what was next.<br /><br />I'm not an expert on mental illness, so I can't judge that part, but I love how LaValle gives us a "normal" guy as protagonist, then thwarts his stereotypes about people with mental illness. I also love how he sets us up for some horror tropes but develops them further than I expected.<br /><br />Will definitely be reading more from him.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.60</average_rating>
    <book_published>2012</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16008607-the-devil-in-silver?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Devil in Silver" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347667679l/16008607._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Victor LaValle<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.60<br/>
                                      book published: 2012<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/01/21<br/>
                                      date added: 2025/09/03<br/>
                                      shelves: audiobook, library-book, books-first-read-in-2018, thriller, horror<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I liked this. It wasn't what I was expecting, in a couple ways.<br /><br />After finally reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26883558.The_Ballad_of_Black_Tom" title="The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle" rel="nofollow noopener">The Ballad of Black Tom</a>, I wanted to read more from LaValle. This was available on OverDrive, so this is what was next.<br /><br />I'm not an expert on mental illness, so I can't judge that part, but I love how LaValle gives us a "normal" guy as protagonist, then thwarts his stereotypes about people with mental illness. I also love how he sets us up for some horror tropes but develops them further than I expected.<br /><br />Will definitely be reading more from him.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3048696386?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Feb 2025 23:04:15 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>Far Sector</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3048696386?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>52676540</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570744872l/52676540._SX50_SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[N.K. Jemisin, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Broken Earth and Inheritance science fiction trilogies, makes her comic book debut with bestselling Naomi artist Jamal Campbell as they thrust you into a stunning sci-fi murder mystery on the other side of the universe!<br /><br />For the past six months, newly chosen Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein has been protecting the City Enduring, a massive metropolis of 20 billion people. The city has maintained peace for over 500 years by stripping its citizens of their ability to feel. As a result, violent crime is virtually unheard of, and murder is nonexistent.<br /><br />But that's all about to change in this new maxiseries that gives a DC Young Animal spin to the legacy of the Green Lanterns!]]></book_description>
    <book id="52676540">
      <num_pages>312</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>N.K. Jemisin</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Feb 2025 23:04:15 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 14 Nov 2019 06:56:15 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52676540-far-sector?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Far Sector" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570744872l/52676540._SX50_SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: N.K. Jemisin<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.11<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/02/19<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2104093736?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 03 Dec 2024 06:55:26 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Invention of the White Race]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2104093736?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>12552598</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374002387l/12552598._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[When the first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, there were no "white" people, nor, according to colonial records, would there be for another sixty years. In his seminal two-volume work, <em>The Invention of the White Race</em>, Allen details the creation of the "white race" by the ruling class as a method of social control, in response to labor unrest precipitated by Bacon's Rebellion. Distinguishing European Americans from African Americans within the laboring class, white privileges enforced the myth of the white race through the years and has been central to maintaining ruling-class domination over the entire working class.<br /><br />Since publication in the mid-nineties, <em>Invention</em> has become indispensable in debates on the origins of racial oppression in America. Volume One utilizes Irish history to show the relativity of race and racial oppression as a form of social control. Volume Two details the development of racial oppression and racial slavery in colonial Virginia and, more broadly, Anglo-America. A new introduction by Jeffrey B. Perry discusses Allen's contributions, critical reception and continuing importance.]]></book_description>
    <book id="12552598">
      <num_pages>758</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Theodore W. Allen</author_name>
    <isbn>1844677710</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 03 Dec 2024 06:55:26 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 25 Aug 2017 20:31:00 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.29</average_rating>
    <book_published>1975</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12552598-the-invention-of-the-white-race?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Invention of the White Race" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374002387l/12552598._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Theodore W. Allen<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.29<br/>
                                      book published: 1975<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/12/03<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1654588702?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Sep 2024 03:20:44 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Infomocracy (Centenal Cycle #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1654588702?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28604673</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p>It's been twenty years and two election cycles since Information, a powerful search engine monopoly, pioneered the switch from warring nation-states to global micro-democracy. The corporate coalition party Heritage has won the last two elections. With another election on the horizon, the Supermajority is in tight contention, and everything's on the line.</p><p>With power comes corruption. For Ken, this is his chance to do right by the idealistic Policy1st party and get a steady job in the big leagues. For Domaine, the election represents another staging ground in his ongoing struggle against the <i>pax democratica</i>. For Mishima, a dangerous Information operative, the whole situation is a puzzle: how do you keep the wheels running on the biggest political experiment of all time, when so many have so much to gain?</p><p><i>Infomocracy</i> is Malka Older's debut novel.</p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="28604673">
      <num_pages>382</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Malka Ann Older</author_name>
    <isbn>0765385147</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 6 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Sep 2024 03:20:44 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 31 May 2016 16:03:41 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-published-2016, science-fiction, book-club, books-first-read-in-2016, ebook, kobo-aura]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.81</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28604673-infomocracy?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Infomocracy (Centenal Cycle #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453225772l/28604673._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Malka Ann Older<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.81<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/10/06<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/29<br/>
                                      shelves: books-published-2016, science-fiction, book-club, books-first-read-in-2016, ebook, kobo-aura<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5053172190?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Sep 2024 01:30:02 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Story Of Kullervo: An Epic Dark Fantasy from Finnish Mythology – Tolkien's Foundation for The Silmarillion]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5053172190?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>26158321</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459366841l/26158321._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>"Shows how Finnish mythology and folk tales were instrumental to how Tolkien created his own legendarium."--</b><i>
  <b>Boston Globe</b>
</i><br /><br />Kullervo, son of Kalervo, is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien's characters. "Hapless Kullervo," as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny.<br /><br />Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and tried three times to kill him when he was still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and the magical powers of the black dog Musti, who guards him. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruelest of fates.<br /><br />Tolkien himself said that <i>The Story of Kullervo</i> was "the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own," and was "a major matter in the legends of the First Age." Tolkien's Kullervo is the clear ancestor of T�rin Turambar, the tragic incestuous hero of <i>The Silmarillion</i>. Published with the author's drafts, notes, and lecture essays on its source work, the <i>Kalevala</i>, <i>The Story of Kullervo </i>is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien's invented world.<br /><br /><b>"A fascinating read."--NPR</b>]]></book_description>
    <book id="26158321">
      <num_pages>193</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>J.R.R. Tolkien</author_name>
    <isbn>0544706323</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Sep 2024 01:30:02 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Oct 2022 09:59:01 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, fantasy, mythic, ebook, translation, kobo-aura-one, books-first-read-in-2022, books-published-2016, non-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Interesting look into the Finnish Kalevala, Tolkien's non- and pre- Middle Earth translation work, and some essays about connected topics, both from Tolkien and others.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.65</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26158321-the-story-of-kullervo?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Story Of Kullervo: An Epic Dark Fantasy from Finnish Mythology – Tolkien&#39;s Foundation for The Silmarillion" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459366841l/26158321._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: J.R.R. Tolkien<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.65<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/10/18<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/29<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, fantasy, mythic, ebook, translation, kobo-aura-one, books-first-read-in-2022, books-published-2016, non-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Interesting look into the Finnish Kalevala, Tolkien's non- and pre- Middle Earth translation work, and some essays about connected topics, both from Tolkien and others.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1507398437?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:28:02 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Edge of Dark (The Glittering Edge, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1507398437?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25059619</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1434271481l/25059619._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>What if </b>a society banished its worst nightmare to the far edge of the solar system, destined to sip only dregs of light and struggle for the barest living.  And yet, that life thrived?  It grew and learned and became far more than you ever expected, and it wanted to return to the sun.  What if it didn’t share your moral compass in any way?<br /><br />The Glittering Edge duology describes the clash of forces when an advanced society that has filled a solar system with flesh and blood life meets the near-AI’s that it banished long ago.  This is a story of love for the wild and natural life on a colony planet, complex adventure set in powerful space stations, and the desire to live completely whether you are made of flesh and bone or silicon and carbon fiber.  <br /><br />In <i>Edge of Dark</i>, meet ranger Charlie Windar and his adopted wild predator, and explore their home on a planet that has been raped and restored more than once.  Meet Nona Hall, child of power and privilege from the greatest station in the system, the Diamond Deep.  Meet Nona’s best friend, a young woman named Chrystal who awakens in a robotic body….<br /><br /><br /><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i>]]></book_description>
    <book id="25059619">
      <num_pages>402</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Brenda Cooper</author_name>
    <isbn>1633880516</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:28:02 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:21:44 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.83</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25059619-edge-of-dark?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Edge of Dark (The Glittering Edge, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1434271481l/25059619._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Brenda Cooper<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.83<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/29<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1753851263?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 23:59:02 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Everfair (Everfair #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1753851263?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28496075</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1452368214l/28496075._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Everfair </i>is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo's "owner," King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.<br /><br />Nisi Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. <i>Everfair </i>is told from a multiplicity of Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. <i>Everfair </i>is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.<br /><br />At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]></book_description>
    <book id="28496075">
      <num_pages>371</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nisi Shawl</author_name>
    <isbn>1466837845</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sat, 25 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 23:59:02 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 10 Sep 2016 02:27:32 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2016, books-first-read-in-2017, book-club, kobo-aura, ebook, steampunk, fantasy, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA["And then she was once again in the arms of her imperfect love."<br /><br />People from around the world come together around the idea of making a utopian country from a horrible situation (based on the real-life <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State" rel="nofollow noopener">Congo genocide</a>).<br /><br />As much about the country of Everfair itself as it is about the people involved. It wasn't until the end that I got the idea that the story was about patriotism, love of country, as it was about the lives of the people and the adventures they get involved in.<br /><br />It was a little tough working my way through the novel. I've never come across storytelling exactly like this. I feel like it's kind of an antithesis to epic fantasy door-stoppers. There's a large cast of characters in a story that spans 30 years, all in a less than 400 page novel. I feel like a second read through would be worthwhile.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28496075-everfair?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Everfair (Everfair #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1452368214l/28496075._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nisi Shawl<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.44<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2017/03/25<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2016, books-first-read-in-2017, book-club, kobo-aura, ebook, steampunk, fantasy, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/>"And then she was once again in the arms of her imperfect love."<br /><br />People from around the world come together around the idea of making a utopian country from a horrible situation (based on the real-life <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State" rel="nofollow noopener">Congo genocide</a>).<br /><br />As much about the country of Everfair itself as it is about the people involved. It wasn't until the end that I got the idea that the story was about patriotism, love of country, as it was about the lives of the people and the adventures they get involved in.<br /><br />It was a little tough working my way through the novel. I've never come across storytelling exactly like this. I feel like it's kind of an antithesis to epic fantasy door-stoppers. There's a large cast of characters in a story that spans 30 years, all in a less than 400 page novel. I feel like a second read through would be worthwhile.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1866191237?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 17:37:45 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Shades of Grey (Shades of Grey, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1866191237?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>19704606</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387746910l/19704606._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[An astonishing, hotly anticipated new novel from the great literary fantasist and creator of Thursday Next, Jasper Fforde. <br /> As long as anyone can remember, society has been ruled by a Colortocracy. From the underground feedpipes that keep the municipal park green to the healing hues viewed to cure illness to a social hierarchy based upon one's limited color perception, society is dominated by color. In this world, you are what you can see. <br /> Young Eddie Russett has no ambition to be anything other than a loyal drone of the Collective. With his better-than-average red perception, he could well marry Constance Oxblood and inherit the string works; he may even have enough red perception to make prefect. <br /> For Eddie, life looks colorful. Life looks good. <br /> But everything changes when he moves with his father, a respected swatchman, to East Carmine. There, he falls in love with a Grey named Jane who opens his eyes to the painful truth behind his seemingly perfect, rigidly controlled society. <br /> Curiosity--a dangerous trait to display in a society that demands total conformity--gets the better of Eddie, who beings to <br /> Why are there not enough spoons to go around? <br /> Why is everything--and everyone--barcoded? <br /> What happened to all the people who never returned from High Saffron? <br /> And why, when you begin to question the world around you, do black-and- white certainties reduce themselves to shades of grey? <br /> Part satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, this is the new world from the creative and comic genius of Jasper Fforde.]]></book_description>
    <book id="19704606">
      <num_pages>449</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jasper Fforde</author_name>
    <isbn>1101159650</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 17:37:45 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 04 Jan 2017 16:11:16 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, science-fiction, kobo-aura, ebook, book-club, books-first-read-in-2017]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I was slow getting into this book, but it grew on me, and I plowed through the last 3rd in one go.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.16</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19704606-shades-of-grey?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Shades of Grey (Shades of Grey, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387746910l/19704606._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jasper Fforde<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.16<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2017/01/18<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, science-fiction, kobo-aura, ebook, book-club, books-first-read-in-2017<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I was slow getting into this book, but it grew on me, and I plowed through the last 3rd in one go.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/832611141?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 14:12:33 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/832611141?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>7733239</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska's ice. Thus was Dr. Blue's Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.<br /><br />But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.<br /><br />Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue's widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.<br /><br />His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.]]></book_description>
    <book id="7733239">
      <num_pages>417</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Cherie Priest</author_name>
    <isbn>1429942495</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 14:12:33 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 23 Jan 2014 16:38:20 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, humble-ebook-bundle</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.54</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7733239-boneshaker?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1296252732l/7733239._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Cherie Priest<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.54<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, humble-ebook-bundle<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6885221686?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 14:02:29 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Binti: The Complete Trilogy</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6885221686?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>40382407</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Includes a brand-new Binti story! </b><br /><br />Collected for the first time in an omnibus edition, the Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning Binti trilogy, the story of one extraordinary girl's journey from her home to distant Oomza University.<br /><br />In her Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella, Nnedi Okorafor introduced us to Binti, a young Himba girl with the chance of a lifetime: to attend the prestigious Oomza University. Despite her family's concerns, Binti's talent for mathematics and her aptitude with astrolabes make her a prime candidate to undertake this interstellar journey.<br /><br />But everything changes when the jellyfish-like Medusae attack Binti's spaceship, leaving her the only survivor. Now, Binti must fend for herself, alone on a ship full of the beings who murdered her crew, with five days until she reaches her destination.<br /><br />There is more to the history of the Medusae--and their war with the Khoush--than first meets the eye. If Binti is to survive this voyage and save the inhabitants of the unsuspecting planet that houses Oomza Uni, it will take all of her knowledge and talents to broker the peace.<br /><br />Collected now for the first time in omnibus form, follow Binti's story in this groundbreaking sci-fi trilogy.]]></book_description>
    <book id="40382407">
      <num_pages>368</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nnedi Okorafor</author_name>
    <isbn>0756415195</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 14:02:29 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 14:02:29 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[anthology-collection-magazine, book-club, books-first-read-in-2022, ebook, kobo-aura-one, science-fiction, books-published-2019]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.03</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40382407-binti?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Binti: The Complete Trilogy" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535553295l/40382407._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nnedi Okorafor<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.03<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/03/23<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: anthology-collection-magazine, book-club, books-first-read-in-2022, ebook, kobo-aura-one, science-fiction, books-published-2019<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6884088399?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 05:38:02 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion (Danielle Cain, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6884088399?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>32606889</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485200177l/32606889._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Danielle Cain is a queer punk rock traveller, jaded from a decade on the road. Searching for clues about her best friend’s mysterious and sudden suicide, she ventures to the squatter, utopian town of Freedom, Iowa. All is not well in Freedom, however: things went awry after the town’s residents summoned a protector spirit to serve as their judge and executioner.<br /><br />Danielle shows up in time to witness the spirit—a blood-red, three-antlered deer—begin to turn on its summoners. Danielle and her new friends have to act fast if they’re going to save the town—or get out alive.]]></book_description>
    <book id="32606889">
      <num_pages>130</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Margaret Killjoy</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 05:38:02 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 05:38:02 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[kobo-aura-one, stories-first-read-in-2021, fantasy, contemporary-fantasy, ebook, horror]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32606889-the-lamb-will-slaughter-the-lion?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion (Danielle Cain, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485200177l/32606889._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Margaret Killjoy<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.59<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2021/02/20<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: kobo-aura-one, stories-first-read-in-2021, fantasy, contemporary-fantasy, ebook, horror<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2020546986?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 04:43:46 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Buffalo Soldier</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2020546986?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>31843387</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Having stumbled onto a plot within his homeland of Jamaica, former espionage agent, Desmond Coke, finds himself caught between warring religious and political factions, all vying for control of a mysterious boy named Lij Tafari.<br /><br />Wanting the boy to have a chance to live a free life, Desmond assumes responsibility for him and they flee. But a dogged enemy agent remains ever on their heels, desperate to obtain the secrets held within Lij for her employer alone.<br /><br />Assassins, intrigue, and steammen stand between Desmond and Lij as they search for a place to call home in a North America that could have been.]]></book_description>
    <book id="31843387">
      <num_pages>176</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Maurice Broaddus</author_name>
    <isbn>0765394286</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 14 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 04:43:46 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 05 Jun 2017 09:17:27 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[alternate-history, books-first-read-in-2017, books-published-2017, ebook, kobo-aura, steampunk, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Let me start with a disclaimer. I've never been a big fan of steampunk.<br /><br />And yet I've found myself reading it a bit lately. I can't say that it's growing on me, but there are occasionally good stories.<br /><br />This one kept me going throughout. More because of the characters than anything else. Lij most of all. Sure, the setting was cool, and seems like it'll probably grab fans of steampunk more than it grabbed me, but it was the characters and their rich backgrounds that kept me wanting more.<br /><br />It was also the unusual (if my limited knowledge—stereotype?—of steampunk is true) in the cultures represented. I think of cowboys a la Wild Wild West. Or high society urbanites. Or civil war figures. Here we get a renegade Jamaican elite warrior and his ward. We get a couple leaders from a fascinating alternate history group of native nations. The most typical characters are the Pinkerton detective and the alluded-to captains of industry.<br /><br />Broaddus kept me wondering about the when of the story. With the diversions from history and the varieties of steam tech, I couldn't really place things. Probably late 19th to early 20th century, but that's pretty vague. And typical?<br /><br />Buffalo Soldier also shares an interesting concept with the last steampunk story (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114130.Everfair" title="Everfair by Nisi Shawl" rel="nofollow noopener">Everfair</a>) I read. Both talk, to varying extents, about the idea that people can be home. I'm not sure why it never came to me before. Maybe because I've been lucky enough to have anchor places in my family. But the idea that people can be home has stuck with me since Everfair, and cropped up again here. Explicitly, that is. I'm sure it can be found in all sorts of stories.<br /><br />Anyway, I think Buffalo Soldier should work for a variety of people. Probably especially for fans of steampunk, but the characters should give most people a good way through the story.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.70</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31843387-buffalo-soldier?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Buffalo Soldier" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474571229l/31843387._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Maurice Broaddus<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.70<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2017/06/14<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: alternate-history, books-first-read-in-2017, books-published-2017, ebook, kobo-aura, steampunk, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Let me start with a disclaimer. I've never been a big fan of steampunk.<br /><br />And yet I've found myself reading it a bit lately. I can't say that it's growing on me, but there are occasionally good stories.<br /><br />This one kept me going throughout. More because of the characters than anything else. Lij most of all. Sure, the setting was cool, and seems like it'll probably grab fans of steampunk more than it grabbed me, but it was the characters and their rich backgrounds that kept me wanting more.<br /><br />It was also the unusual (if my limited knowledge—stereotype?—of steampunk is true) in the cultures represented. I think of cowboys a la Wild Wild West. Or high society urbanites. Or civil war figures. Here we get a renegade Jamaican elite warrior and his ward. We get a couple leaders from a fascinating alternate history group of native nations. The most typical characters are the Pinkerton detective and the alluded-to captains of industry.<br /><br />Broaddus kept me wondering about the when of the story. With the diversions from history and the varieties of steam tech, I couldn't really place things. Probably late 19th to early 20th century, but that's pretty vague. And typical?<br /><br />Buffalo Soldier also shares an interesting concept with the last steampunk story (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114130.Everfair" title="Everfair by Nisi Shawl" rel="nofollow noopener">Everfair</a>) I read. Both talk, to varying extents, about the idea that people can be home. I'm not sure why it never came to me before. Maybe because I've been lucky enough to have anchor places in my family. But the idea that people can be home has stuck with me since Everfair, and cropped up again here. Explicitly, that is. I'm sure it can be found in all sorts of stories.<br /><br />Anyway, I think Buffalo Soldier should work for a variety of people. Probably especially for fans of steampunk, but the characters should give most people a good way through the story.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1203115093?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 03:26:28 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1203115093?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>19405760</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[LIKE THE FEMALE SCIENTISTS PORTRAYED IN HIDDEN FIGURES, MARY SHERMAN MORGAN WAS ANOTHERUNSUNG HEROINE OF THE SPACE AGE-NOWHER STORY IS FINALLY TOLD.This is the extraordinary true story of America's first female rocket scientist. Told by her son, it describes Mary Sherman Morgan's crucial contribution to launching America's first satellite and the author's labyrinthine journey to uncover his mother's lost legacy--one buried deep under a lifetime of secrets political, technological, and personal.In 1938, a young German rocket enthusiast named Wernher von Braun had dreams of building a rocket that could fly him to the moon. In Ray, North Dakota, a young farm girl named Mary Sherman was attending high school. In an age when girls rarely dreamed of a career in science, Mary wanted to be a chemist. A decade later the dreams of these two disparate individuals would coalesce in ways neither could have imagined.World War II and the Cold War space race with the Russians changed the fates of both von Braun and Mary Sherman Morgan. When von Braun and other top engineers could not find a solution to the repeated failures that plagued the nascent US rocket program, North American Aviation, where Sherman Morgan then worked, was given the challenge. Recognizing her talent for chemistry, company management turned the assignment over to young Mary.In the end, America succeeded in launching rockets into space, but only because of the joint efforts of the brilliant farm girl from North Dakota and the famous German scientist. While von Braun went on to become a high-profile figure in NASA's manned space flight, Mary Sherman Morgan and her contributions fell into obscurity--until now.]]></book_description>
    <book id="19405760">
      <num_pages>279</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>George D. Morgan</author_name>
    <isbn>1616147407</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sun, 1 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 28 Sep 2024 03:26:28 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:14:45 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, non-fiction, science, treebooks, history, books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2013]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[After watching the new Cosmos (the one hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson), I started making a list of books about women scientists. Rocket Girl was one of the first available at my public library, so I picked it up.<br /><br />The style threw me at first because I was expecting more of a traditional biography, but the author (Morgan's son) wrote something closer to creative non-fiction. It makes sense. Mary's work was top-secret and she had mental illness, so she was distant from her kids and reluctant to tell anyone about what she did.<br /><br />Still, what is known makes for a good story, and Morgan throws in details of what the USSR was up to at the time to help put his mother's work in perspective.<br /><br />It's unfortunate that stories like these get lost to history. Mary was a brilliant scientist and engineer who played a major role in the space race. With her struggle with mental illness added to the mix, she can be a role model for so many people.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.17</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19405760-rocket-girl?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America&#39;s First Female Rocket Scientist" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394784419l/19405760._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: George D. Morgan<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.17<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/02/01<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/28<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, non-fiction, science, treebooks, history, books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2013<br/>
                                      review: <br/>After watching the new Cosmos (the one hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson), I started making a list of books about women scientists. Rocket Girl was one of the first available at my public library, so I picked it up.<br /><br />The style threw me at first because I was expecting more of a traditional biography, but the author (Morgan's son) wrote something closer to creative non-fiction. It makes sense. Mary's work was top-secret and she had mental illness, so she was distant from her kids and reluctant to tell anyone about what she did.<br /><br />Still, what is known makes for a good story, and Morgan throws in details of what the USSR was up to at the time to help put his mother's work in perspective.<br /><br />It's unfortunate that stories like these get lost to history. Mary was a brilliant scientist and engineer who played a major role in the space race. With her struggle with mental illness added to the mix, she can be a role model for so many people.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/982536065?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:13:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Warbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #3)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/982536065?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18214274</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Gritty urban fantasy adventure set in an alternate noir 1930s, Book Three in the Grimnoir chronicles.<br /><br />Only a handful of people in the world know that mankind's magic comes from a living creature, and it is a refugee from another universe. The Power showed up here in the 1850s because it was running from something. Now it is 1933, and the Power's hiding place has been discovered by a killer.<br /><br />It is a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. Earth is next.<br /><br />Former private eye, Jake Sullivan, knows the score. The problem is hardly anyone believes him. The world's most capable Active, Faye Vierra, could back him up, but she is hiding from the forces that think she is too dangerous to let live. So Jake has put together a ragtag crew of airship pirates and Grimnoir knights, and set out on a suicide mission to stop the predator before it is too late.]]></book_description>
    <book id="18214274">
      <num_pages>386</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Larry Correia</author_name>
    <isbn>1625791550</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 6 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 22:13:47 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 30 Jun 2014 17:49:02 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[2014-hugo-nominee, fantasy, ebook, alternate-history, books-first-read-in-2014, books-published-2013]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Magically Superpowered humans fight--for control of earth and to save it from a mega-powered super-being.<br /><br />I read approximately two-thirds of this and lost interest. I also started with this book, so I might be missing something for lack of context.<br /><br />The magically superpowered heroes and villains in a modern take on classic pulp fiction just weren't doing it for me. It reminded me in a way of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16078549.Invasion__The_Secret_World_Chronicles__1_" title="Invasion (The Secret World Chronicles #1) by Mercedes Lackey" rel="nofollow noopener">Invasion</a>, which I liked slightly better, but still am not going to read more in that series. Maybe if it was written more solidly in the pulp or modern style it would have worked. I'm not sure. Because of the pulpiness, most of the characters were cardboard for me. Interesting, but cardboard. Also, the world wasn't different enough for having all these superpowered beings living in it for decades--it mirrored significant events of our world too closely to make sense to me.<br /><br />What worked for me? As mentioned above, even if the characters were a bit flat, some of the main ones were kind of interesting. The action was fun.<br /><br />NOTE: I read this in the 2014 Hugo Voter Pack.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.52</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18214274-warbound?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Warbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #3)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374166417l/18214274._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Larry Correia<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.52<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/08/06<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/27<br/>
                                      shelves: 2014-hugo-nominee, fantasy, ebook, alternate-history, books-first-read-in-2014, books-published-2013<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Magically Superpowered humans fight--for control of earth and to save it from a mega-powered super-being.<br /><br />I read approximately two-thirds of this and lost interest. I also started with this book, so I might be missing something for lack of context.<br /><br />The magically superpowered heroes and villains in a modern take on classic pulp fiction just weren't doing it for me. It reminded me in a way of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16078549.Invasion__The_Secret_World_Chronicles__1_" title="Invasion (The Secret World Chronicles #1) by Mercedes Lackey" rel="nofollow noopener">Invasion</a>, which I liked slightly better, but still am not going to read more in that series. Maybe if it was written more solidly in the pulp or modern style it would have worked. I'm not sure. Because of the pulpiness, most of the characters were cardboard for me. Interesting, but cardboard. Also, the world wasn't different enough for having all these superpowered beings living in it for decades--it mirrored significant events of our world too closely to make sense to me.<br /><br />What worked for me? As mentioned above, even if the characters were a bit flat, some of the main ones were kind of interesting. The action was fun.<br /><br />NOTE: I read this in the 2014 Hugo Voter Pack.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/488417543?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 21:30:33 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Pump Six</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/488417543?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>9435728</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328358493l/9435728._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Paolo Bacigalupi's debut collection demonstrates the power and reach of the science fiction short story.]]></book_description>
    <book id="9435728">
      <num_pages>249</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Paolo Bacigalupi</author_name>
    <isbn>1597802379</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 6 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 21:30:33 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 29 Dec 2012 04:42:02 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[science-fiction, short-stories, books-first-read-in-2014, horror, five-star-fiction, ebook, anthology-collection-magazine]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Bacigalupi is the king of the slow apocalypse. He creates such immersive stories set in this creeping destruction of our world, and characters that pull me into the setting, that I feel the horror, the wonder, the pain, and I sometimes I feel motivated. So good.<br /><br />See my status updates for this book to read my initial reactions and notes for each story.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.03</average_rating>
    <book_published>2008</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9435728-pump-six?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Pump Six" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328358493l/9435728._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Paolo Bacigalupi<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.03<br/>
                                      book published: 2008<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/03/06<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/27<br/>
                                      shelves: science-fiction, short-stories, books-first-read-in-2014, horror, five-star-fiction, ebook, anthology-collection-magazine<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Bacigalupi is the king of the slow apocalypse. He creates such immersive stories set in this creeping destruction of our world, and characters that pull me into the setting, that I feel the horror, the wonder, the pain, and I sometimes I feel motivated. So good.<br /><br />See my status updates for this book to read my initial reactions and notes for each story.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1218561450?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:55:00 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Afterparty</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1218561450?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>20566495</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389993549l/20566495._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
    <book_small_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389993549l/20566495._SX50_.jpg]]></book_small_image_url>
    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389993549l/20566495._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389993549l/20566495.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[It begins in Toronto, in the years after the smart drug revolution. Any high school student with a chemjet and internet connection can download recipes and print drugs, or invent them. A seventeen-year-old street girl finds God through a new brain-altering drug called Numinous, used as a sacrament by a new Church that preys on the underclass. But she is arrested and put into detention, and without the drug, commits suicide. <br /><br />Lyda Rose, another patient in that detention facility, has a dark secret: she was one of the original scientists who developed the drug. With the help of an ex-government agent and an imaginary, drug-induced doctor, Lyda sets out to find the other three survivors of the five who made the Numinous in a quest to set things right. <br /><br />A mind-bending and violent chase across Canada and the US, Daryl Gregory's Afterparty is a last chance to save civilization, or die trying.]]></book_description>
    <book id="20566495">
      <num_pages>304</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Daryl Gregory</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sun, 10 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:55:00 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 04 Mar 2015 17:05:19 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2016, ebook, kobo-aura, library-book, religious, science-fiction, books-published-2014]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[So much is going on here, I'm still not sure exactly what to write.<br /><br />At the core there's a mystery. We follow Lyda Rose as she tries to find out if the death of her friend is tied to her own past. So we get detective bits and action bits, unknown enemies and their mysterious agents. All that's good and fun.<br /><br />Then there's all the stuff about gods and mental illness and drugs and neuroscience. I don't think I've ever read a book that has so many main characters dealing with different types of mental illness. It's pretty cool in that respect, though I'm not an expert, so I don't know exactly how authentic it is.<br /><br />With the gods and religious experience stuff, though, I can imagine it rubbing people the wrong way. There was a little of that for me, but mostly it just gave food for thought. What does it mean that we can map religious experience to parts of the brain? If we could—hypothetically—disprove god this way, would it invalidate the experience? &amp;c. I could keep the questions coming, but they're better for a conversation than a review.<br /><br />This makes me want to read more of Gregory's work. I've got <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20344877.We_Are_All_Completely_Fine" title="We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory" rel="nofollow noopener">We Are All Completely Fine</a> in my to-read list.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.96</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20566495-afterparty?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Afterparty" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389993549l/20566495._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Daryl Gregory<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.96<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/01/10<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/27<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2016, ebook, kobo-aura, library-book, religious, science-fiction, books-published-2014<br/>
                                      review: <br/>So much is going on here, I'm still not sure exactly what to write.<br /><br />At the core there's a mystery. We follow Lyda Rose as she tries to find out if the death of her friend is tied to her own past. So we get detective bits and action bits, unknown enemies and their mysterious agents. All that's good and fun.<br /><br />Then there's all the stuff about gods and mental illness and drugs and neuroscience. I don't think I've ever read a book that has so many main characters dealing with different types of mental illness. It's pretty cool in that respect, though I'm not an expert, so I don't know exactly how authentic it is.<br /><br />With the gods and religious experience stuff, though, I can imagine it rubbing people the wrong way. There was a little of that for me, but mostly it just gave food for thought. What does it mean that we can map religious experience to parts of the brain? If we could—hypothetically—disprove god this way, would it invalidate the experience? &amp;c. I could keep the questions coming, but they're better for a conversation than a review.<br /><br />This makes me want to read more of Gregory's work. I've got <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20344877.We_Are_All_Completely_Fine" title="We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory" rel="nofollow noopener">We Are All Completely Fine</a> in my to-read list.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2911887287?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 13:14:57 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2911887287?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>16029682</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453835082l/16029682._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453835082l/16029682._SY475_.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[Originally published in 1968, Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea marks the first of the six now beloved Earthsea titles. Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.]]></book_description>
    <book id="16029682">
      <num_pages>210</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ursula K. Le Guin</author_name>
    <isbn>0544084373</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 26 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Sep 2024 13:14:57 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 26 Jul 2019 09:19:10 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-reread-in-2019, fantasy, library-book, ebook, kobo-aura-one]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Third time's a charm? Probably the most engaged of my read-throughs. Le Guin has a unique voice. She's a little more meandering than modern writers, but the world-building detail she puts into a small space is something I don't often see fantasy writers doing. I like it. I also like that her world isn't centered around war, as she mentions in the afterward. Not that there's no violence or suspense, just war isn't a part of the story.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.03</average_rating>
    <book_published>1968</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16029682-a-wizard-of-earthsea?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453835082l/16029682._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ursula K. Le Guin<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.03<br/>
                                      book published: 1968<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2019/07/26<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/27<br/>
                                      shelves: books-reread-in-2019, fantasy, library-book, ebook, kobo-aura-one<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Third time's a charm? Probably the most engaged of my read-throughs. Le Guin has a unique voice. She's a little more meandering than modern writers, but the world-building detail she puts into a small space is something I don't often see fantasy writers doing. I like it. I also like that her world isn't centered around war, as she mentions in the afterward. Not that there's no violence or suspense, just war isn't a part of the story.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/799172252?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Sep 2024 18:19:48 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Shambling Guide to New York City (The Shambling Guides Book 1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/799172252?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17970402</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398052786l/17970402._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398052786l/17970402.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city -- for the undead!Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume -- human.Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17970402">
      <num_pages>368</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Mur Lafferty</author_name>
    <isbn>0316221163</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Mon, 8 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Sep 2024 18:19:48 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Dec 2013 21:54:29 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2014, ebook, fantasy, contemporary-fantasy, horror]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Zoë is reaching the end of her savings as she's looking for a job in her new city, New York. She finally finds a job that has some quite unexpected aspects.<br /><br />I'm normally not a fan of urban fantasies. The mish-mash of fantasy races often comes off as haphazard and overdone, so I pass them by. But, as a listener of Mur's I Should Be Writing podcast and the first book in her Heaven/Hell series, I was eager to jump into this one.<br /><br />She puts a fun spin on the various races, especially the zombies and gods, that works well for me. And, as she mentions in the bonus section at the end, her take on 'zoëtists' is something I haven't really come across before. Golems and Frankenstein's monster (coterie?) like creatures just don't show up that often, especially not in the way that Mur writes them.<br /><br />As the suspense ramped up, I wanted to know how things ended, so I started reading bigger and bigger chunks. Actually, I left my weekly game night early so I could find out how the story wrapped up.<br /><br />Still, it felt like it might've been able to use one more editing pass. There were some discrepancies, especially won that left me wondering about Zoë's finances, that could easily be patched. They're probably minor and nit-picky, though, so don't let it keep you from reading this series.<br /><br />I'm already looking forward to the second book.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17970402-the-shambling-guide-to-new-york-city?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Shambling Guide to New York City (The Shambling Guides Book 1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398052786l/17970402._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Mur Lafferty<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.88<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/12/08<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/26<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2014, ebook, fantasy, contemporary-fantasy, horror<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Zoë is reaching the end of her savings as she's looking for a job in her new city, New York. She finally finds a job that has some quite unexpected aspects.<br /><br />I'm normally not a fan of urban fantasies. The mish-mash of fantasy races often comes off as haphazard and overdone, so I pass them by. But, as a listener of Mur's I Should Be Writing podcast and the first book in her Heaven/Hell series, I was eager to jump into this one.<br /><br />She puts a fun spin on the various races, especially the zombies and gods, that works well for me. And, as she mentions in the bonus section at the end, her take on 'zoëtists' is something I haven't really come across before. Golems and Frankenstein's monster (coterie?) like creatures just don't show up that often, especially not in the way that Mur writes them.<br /><br />As the suspense ramped up, I wanted to know how things ended, so I started reading bigger and bigger chunks. Actually, I left my weekly game night early so I could find out how the story wrapped up.<br /><br />Still, it felt like it might've been able to use one more editing pass. There were some discrepancies, especially won that left me wondering about Zoë's finances, that could easily be patched. They're probably minor and nit-picky, though, so don't let it keep you from reading this series.<br /><br />I'm already looking forward to the second book.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6879800946?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:25:12 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6879800946?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>19103097</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455089828l/19103097._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>The stunning conclusion to the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling Magicians trilogy</b><br /><br />Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. Everything he had fought so hard for, not to mention his closest friends, is sealed away in a land Quentin may never again visit. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Meanwhile, the magical barriers that keep Fillory safe are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. Eliot and Janet, the rulers of Fillory, embark on a final quest to save their beloved world, only to discover a situation far more complex—and far more dire—than anyone had envisioned.<br /><br />Along with Plum, a brilliant young magician with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. His new life takes him back to old haunts, like Antarctica and the Neitherlands, and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers buried secrets and hidden evils and ultimately the key to a sorcerous masterwork, a spell that could create a magical utopia. But all roads lead back to Fillory, where Quentin must face his fears and put things right or die trying.<br /><br /><i>The Magician’s Land</i> is an intricate and fantastical thriller, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy. It’s the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.]]></book_description>
    <book id="19103097">
      <num_pages>402</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Lev Grossman</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sun, 31 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:25:12 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Sep 2024 13:01:28 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2014, contemporary-fantasy, ebook, library-book, kobo-aura]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[The previous book left me feeling it may suffer from middle-book-itis, so I kept on to finish out the trilogy.<br /><br /><i>The Magician's Land</i> had lots of big magic and interesting ideas, but it just didn't come together. All the big events felt like they were thrown in without any real links, reason, or weight. One major event late in the book--[spoilers removed]--gets detailed description, but I just didn't care.<br /><br />In the last couple chapters, there were a couple efforts to pull themes from the book, but the themes just hadn't been there, and the wrap up was incomplete for it. Then there was this: "[Quentin] was full of emotion, full of feelings, bursting with them, and when it came down to it that's what being a magician was." Is this the same Quentin from the rest of the trilogy? Because he certainly wasn't full of emotion and bursting with feelings.<br /><br />Still, something kept me going til the end. Maybe it was just that I had read the previous books and wanted to see it through, but for all the disjointedness, all the big magic was cool on its own.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.14</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19103097-the-magician-s-land?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Magician&#39;s Land (The Magicians, #3)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455089828l/19103097._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Lev Grossman<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.14<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/05/31<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/26<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2014, contemporary-fantasy, ebook, library-book, kobo-aura<br/>
                                      review: <br/>The previous book left me feeling it may suffer from middle-book-itis, so I kept on to finish out the trilogy.<br /><br /><i>The Magician's Land</i> had lots of big magic and interesting ideas, but it just didn't come together. All the big events felt like they were thrown in without any real links, reason, or weight. One major event late in the book--[spoilers removed]--gets detailed description, but I just didn't care.<br /><br />In the last couple chapters, there were a couple efforts to pull themes from the book, but the themes just hadn't been there, and the wrap up was incomplete for it. Then there was this: "[Quentin] was full of emotion, full of feelings, bursting with them, and when it came down to it that's what being a magician was." Is this the same Quentin from the rest of the trilogy? Because he certainly wasn't full of emotion and bursting with feelings.<br /><br />Still, something kept me going til the end. Maybe it was just that I had read the previous books and wanted to see it through, but for all the disjointedness, all the big magic was cool on its own.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2471554297?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:49:08 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Space Opera (Space Opera, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2471554297?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>36136118</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514096918l/36136118._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented—something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.<br /><br />Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete.<br /><br />This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny—they must sing.<br /><br />A band of human musicians, dancers, and roadies have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.]]></book_description>
    <book id="36136118">
      <num_pages>305</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Catherynne M. Valente</author_name>
    <isbn>1481497510</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:49:08 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Jul 2018 16:14:42 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[book-club, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2018, ebook, kobo-touch, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.60</average_rating>
    <book_published>2018</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36136118-space-opera?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Space Opera (Space Opera, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514096918l/36136118._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Catherynne M. Valente<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.60<br/>
                                      book published: 2018<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/07/26<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: book-club, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2018, ebook, kobo-touch, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1664541899?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:48:17 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Razorhurst</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1664541899?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23257561</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411335669l/23257561._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>In the vein of <i>The Diviners</i> and <i>The Petal and the White</i>, <i>Razorhurst </i>reimagines the notorious history of a mob-controlled Sydney—with a paranormal twist.</b><br /><br />Sydney’s deadly Razorhurst neighborhood, 1932. Gloriana Nelson and Mr. Davidson, two ruthless mob bosses, have reached a fragile peace—one maintained by “razor men.” Kelpie, orphaned and homeless, is blessed (and cursed) with the ability to see Razorhurst’s many ghosts. They tell her secrets the living can’t know about the cracks already forming in the mobs’ truce. <br /><br />Then Kelpie meets Dymphna Campbell, a legendary beauty and prized moll of Gloriana Nelson. She’s earned the nickname “Angel of Death” because none of her beaus has ever survived knowing her. Unbeknownst to Kelpie, Dymphna can see ghosts, too, and she knows that Gloriana’s hold is crumbling one henchman at a time. As loyalties shift and betrayal threatens the two girls at every turn, Dymphna is determined not only to survive, but to rise to the top with Kelpie at her side.]]></book_description>
    <book id="23257561">
      <num_pages>320</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Justine Larbalestier</author_name>
    <isbn>1616955457</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:48:17 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 10 Jun 2016 05:03:02 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.52</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23257561-razorhurst?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Razorhurst" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411335669l/23257561._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Justine Larbalestier<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.52<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/481191865?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:59:34 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/481191865?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>42399789</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540046846l/42399789._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The New York Times best-selling and Hugo and Nebula award-winning author delivers a stunning collection of his best short fiction, including a new, never-before-published story.]]></book_description>
    <book id="42399789">
      <num_pages>404</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Kim Stanley Robinson</author_name>
    <isbn>1597802514</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:59:34 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:49:01 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[science-fiction, short-stories, books-first-read-in-2014, ebook, anthology-collection-magazine]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I took a while to read this, savoring it, not putting it off. Again and again, the stories triggered my imagination and encouraged my sense of wonder and even hope.<br /><br />There's a strong sense of history here, with <i>The Lucky Strike</i>, <i>The Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942</i>, and <i>A History of the Twentieth Century, With Illustrations</i> as standouts. <i>The Lucky Strike</i> moved me, pulled in my emotions and made me think about war and peace. These are common themes in Robinson's works, and he deals with them in creative ways rather than stereotypical ones. <i>A History of the Twentieth Century...</i> also moved me, this time by leading me with the main character toward despair, then taking me to wonder and hope. Great stuff. <i>The Timpanist...</i> wasn't nearly as emotional, but I listened to Beethoven's 9th while reading--not the recording from the story, I'm sorry to say--and it was fitting. Again Robinson has people dealing with war and evil, this time from inside of Nazi Germany, and trying to find a way to express beauty and transcendence, trying to communicate through the music that they aren't all there by choice.<br /><br />In an interview for <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669062.Shaman" title="Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson" rel="nofollow noopener">Shaman</a>, KSR talked about how he viewed science fiction (maybe speculative fiction) as fictional histories. This comes through in these stories as well as his <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40710-mars-trilogy" rel="nofollow noopener">Mars Trilogy</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11830394.2312" title="2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson" rel="nofollow noopener">2312</a>. I assume it does in his lots of his other novels.<br /><br /><i>The Blind Geometer</i> and <i>Escape From Kathmandu</i> were some of my favorites from the collection. They've both got a strong sense of adventure and wonder, with gripping plots that pulled me right along. In <i>The Blind Geometer</i>, KSR uses his descriptive skills to tell what it might be like to be blind. In his notes at the end, he says this one is his way of doing an alien story. He got help from a blind man, as well, and used music as inspiration. The adventure of it, the almost detective style story worked for me. Yeti came to life in a wonderful way in <i>Escape From Kathmandu</i>. After reading it, <i>Harry and the Hendersons</i> came to mind. It was released just two years after this story was published, and I couldn't help but wonder if this story had some kind of influence. KSR's realization of the Yeti is much more satisfying to me, and his way of dealing with the clash between those who want to expose and those who want to protect works much better. The story's a long one, separated into chapters, and I remember thinking that the letter that made up an early chapter could stand alone. Still, the story was great.<br /><br />A number of the stories here didn't have much fantastical or science fictional to them. Or, if it was there, it was quite subtle. <i>Venice Drowned</i>, another of my favorites, was like this. The water levels aren't contemporary, but are a relatively simple extrapolation from our current state. The story itself is mostly internal conflict as the boat pilot struggles with ideas of home and self identity. The stormy night has a fantastic feel to it, though everything about it fits in our realm. Overall, the story had the feel of a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23069.Gene_Wolfe" title="Gene Wolfe" rel="nofollow noopener">Gene Wolfe</a> story to me, which is, of course, a good thing. At least half a dozen stories here have realistic feel to them. Robinson is typically thought of as a Science Fiction author, but, based on these, I'd love to read something "mainstream" from him.<br /><br />Others worth mentioning:<br /><br /><i>Our Town</i>. Even though the ending didn't work for me, reading this decadent future was disturbing and departed more from the realistic than usual. Themes of class, conscience, and freedom made it interesting.<br /><br /><i>Zürich</i> and <i>The Translator</i> were the funniest stories in the collection. The former having a mythic feel to it, the later one a classic science fiction feel.<br /><br />Even though the average of my ratings only came in near four stars, the strength of the collection (and here some kudos probably should go to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/56352.Jonathan_Strahan" title="Jonathan Strahan" rel="nofollow noopener">Jonathan Strahan</a>) makes it a strong five. Robinson is an author who, even though I wouldn't call him a master of the short form, still has a strong voice and mastery of the craft in general. There's plenty here and it's worth anyone's time.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.41</average_rating>
    <book_published>2001</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42399789-the-best-of-kim-stanley-robinson?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540046846l/42399789._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Kim Stanley Robinson<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.41<br/>
                                      book published: 2001<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/10/11<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: science-fiction, short-stories, books-first-read-in-2014, ebook, anthology-collection-magazine<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I took a while to read this, savoring it, not putting it off. Again and again, the stories triggered my imagination and encouraged my sense of wonder and even hope.<br /><br />There's a strong sense of history here, with <i>The Lucky Strike</i>, <i>The Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942</i>, and <i>A History of the Twentieth Century, With Illustrations</i> as standouts. <i>The Lucky Strike</i> moved me, pulled in my emotions and made me think about war and peace. These are common themes in Robinson's works, and he deals with them in creative ways rather than stereotypical ones. <i>A History of the Twentieth Century...</i> also moved me, this time by leading me with the main character toward despair, then taking me to wonder and hope. Great stuff. <i>The Timpanist...</i> wasn't nearly as emotional, but I listened to Beethoven's 9th while reading--not the recording from the story, I'm sorry to say--and it was fitting. Again Robinson has people dealing with war and evil, this time from inside of Nazi Germany, and trying to find a way to express beauty and transcendence, trying to communicate through the music that they aren't all there by choice.<br /><br />In an interview for <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669062.Shaman" title="Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson" rel="nofollow noopener">Shaman</a>, KSR talked about how he viewed science fiction (maybe speculative fiction) as fictional histories. This comes through in these stories as well as his <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40710-mars-trilogy" rel="nofollow noopener">Mars Trilogy</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11830394.2312" title="2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson" rel="nofollow noopener">2312</a>. I assume it does in his lots of his other novels.<br /><br /><i>The Blind Geometer</i> and <i>Escape From Kathmandu</i> were some of my favorites from the collection. They've both got a strong sense of adventure and wonder, with gripping plots that pulled me right along. In <i>The Blind Geometer</i>, KSR uses his descriptive skills to tell what it might be like to be blind. In his notes at the end, he says this one is his way of doing an alien story. He got help from a blind man, as well, and used music as inspiration. The adventure of it, the almost detective style story worked for me. Yeti came to life in a wonderful way in <i>Escape From Kathmandu</i>. After reading it, <i>Harry and the Hendersons</i> came to mind. It was released just two years after this story was published, and I couldn't help but wonder if this story had some kind of influence. KSR's realization of the Yeti is much more satisfying to me, and his way of dealing with the clash between those who want to expose and those who want to protect works much better. The story's a long one, separated into chapters, and I remember thinking that the letter that made up an early chapter could stand alone. Still, the story was great.<br /><br />A number of the stories here didn't have much fantastical or science fictional to them. Or, if it was there, it was quite subtle. <i>Venice Drowned</i>, another of my favorites, was like this. The water levels aren't contemporary, but are a relatively simple extrapolation from our current state. The story itself is mostly internal conflict as the boat pilot struggles with ideas of home and self identity. The stormy night has a fantastic feel to it, though everything about it fits in our realm. Overall, the story had the feel of a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23069.Gene_Wolfe" title="Gene Wolfe" rel="nofollow noopener">Gene Wolfe</a> story to me, which is, of course, a good thing. At least half a dozen stories here have realistic feel to them. Robinson is typically thought of as a Science Fiction author, but, based on these, I'd love to read something "mainstream" from him.<br /><br />Others worth mentioning:<br /><br /><i>Our Town</i>. Even though the ending didn't work for me, reading this decadent future was disturbing and departed more from the realistic than usual. Themes of class, conscience, and freedom made it interesting.<br /><br /><i>Zürich</i> and <i>The Translator</i> were the funniest stories in the collection. The former having a mythic feel to it, the later one a classic science fiction feel.<br /><br />Even though the average of my ratings only came in near four stars, the strength of the collection (and here some kudos probably should go to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/56352.Jonathan_Strahan" title="Jonathan Strahan" rel="nofollow noopener">Jonathan Strahan</a>) makes it a strong five. Robinson is an author who, even though I wouldn't call him a master of the short form, still has a strong voice and mastery of the craft in general. There's plenty here and it's worth anyone's time.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2447691721?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:37:24 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Jumper (Jumper, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2447691721?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>9289174</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328356064l/9289174._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Under the worst possible situation Davy Rice discovers he can teleport anywhere he has already been or he can see.  Where would you go?eBook edition of the New York Times Best selling novel and source of the 2008 feature film starring Samuel Jackson, Hayden Christensen, and Rachel Bilson.  An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults]]></book_description>
    <book id="9289174">
      <num_pages>313</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Steven Gould</author_name>
    <isbn>0982911904</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 6 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:37:24 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 06 Jul 2018 11:59:25 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[ebook, science-fiction, contemporary-fantasy, books-reread-in-2018, kobo-aura]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.13</average_rating>
    <book_published>1992</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9289174-jumper?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Jumper (Jumper, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328356064l/9289174._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Steven Gould<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.13<br/>
                                      book published: 1992<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/07/06<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: ebook, science-fiction, contemporary-fantasy, books-reread-in-2018, kobo-aura<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1321652076?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:22:35 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Who Fears Death (Who Fears Death, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1321652076?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18935845</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393480578l/18935845._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393480578l/18935845._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393480578l/18935845.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>An award-winning literary author enters the world of magical realism with her World Fantasy Award-winning novel of a remarkable woman in post-apocalyptic Africa. </b><br /><br />In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her Onyesonwu, which means "Who fears death?" in an ancient language. <br /><br />It doesn't take long for Onye to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her conception. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by her community. But Onye is not the average Ewu. Even as a child, she manifests the beginnings of a remarkable and unique magic. As she grows, so do her abilities, and during an inadvertent visit to the spirit realm, she learns something someone powerful is trying to kill her.<br /><br />Desperate to elude her would-be murderer and to understand her own nature, she embarks on a journey in which she grapples with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately learns why she was given the name she Who Fears Death.]]></book_description>
    <book id="18935845">
      <num_pages>401</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nnedi Okorafor</author_name>
    <isbn>1101516003</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Mon, 12 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:22:35 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 30 Jun 2015 08:53:12 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2015, fantasy, science-fiction, kobo-aura, book-club, ebook]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Onyesonwu fights to find out who she is, and to let others know.<br /><br />I'm having a hard time bringing my thoughts together on this one. The setting and magic flavor aren't what I'm used to, which usually gives things a leg up, and that's certainly the case here. In fact, some of the places really came to life for me--the village Onye grows up in, the camp in the middle of the sandstorm, the house with the twins.<br /><br />Still, the story didn't pull together enough for five stars.<br /><br />I'm looking forward to more recent stuff from Okorafor. I've got <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25667918.Binti" title="Binti by Nnedi Okorafor" rel="nofollow noopener">Binti</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18753656.Lagoon" title="Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor" rel="nofollow noopener">Lagoon</a> waiting on my ereader.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.20</average_rating>
    <book_published>2010</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18935845-who-fears-death?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Who Fears Death (Who Fears Death, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393480578l/18935845._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nnedi Okorafor<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.20<br/>
                                      book published: 2010<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/10/12<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2015, fantasy, science-fiction, kobo-aura, book-club, ebook<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Onyesonwu fights to find out who she is, and to let others know.<br /><br />I'm having a hard time bringing my thoughts together on this one. The setting and magic flavor aren't what I'm used to, which usually gives things a leg up, and that's certainly the case here. In fact, some of the places really came to life for me--the village Onye grows up in, the camp in the middle of the sandstorm, the house with the twins.<br /><br />Still, the story didn't pull together enough for five stars.<br /><br />I'm looking forward to more recent stuff from Okorafor. I've got <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25667918.Binti" title="Binti by Nnedi Okorafor" rel="nofollow noopener">Binti</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18753656.Lagoon" title="Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor" rel="nofollow noopener">Lagoon</a> waiting on my ereader.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2335019378?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Sep 2024 05:26:00 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[School for Psychics (School for Psychics, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2335019378?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>38088960</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516240901l/38088960._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516240901l/38088960._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516240901l/38088960._SY475_.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[An entrancing new series starring a funny, impulsive, and sometimes self-congratulatory young woman who discovers she has psychic abilities—and then must decide whether she will use her skills for good or…not.<br /><br />Teddy Cannon isn’t your typical twenty-something woman. She’s resourceful. She’s bright. She’s scrappy. She can also read people with uncanny precision. What she doesn’t she’s actually psychic.<br /> <br />When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes. He invites her to apply to the School for Psychics, a facility hidden off the coast of San Francisco where students are trained like Delta Force it’s competitive, cutthroat, and highly secretive. They’ll learn telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. And if students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government, using their skills to protect America, and the world.<br /> <br />In class, Teddy befriends Lucas, a rebel without a cause who can start and manipulate fire; Jillian, a hipster who can mediate communication between animals and humans; and Molly, a hacker who can apprehend the emotional state of another individual. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to break-ins, missing students, and more. It leads Teddy to accept a dangerous mission that will ultimately cause her to question everything—her teachers, her friends, her family, and even herself.<br /> <br />Set in a world very much like our own, <i>School for Psychics</i> is the first book in a stay-up-all night series.]]></book_description>
    <book id="38088960">
      <num_pages>370</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>K.C. Archer</author_name>
    <isbn>1501159356</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sun, 15 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Sep 2024 05:26:00 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 21 Mar 2018 10:01:26 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[ebook, kobo-aura, contemporary-fantasy, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2018, netgalley]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.71</average_rating>
    <book_published>2018</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38088960-school-for-psychics?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="School for Psychics (School for Psychics, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516240901l/38088960._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: K.C. Archer<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.71<br/>
                                      book published: 2018<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/07/15<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/22<br/>
                                      shelves: ebook, kobo-aura, contemporary-fantasy, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2018, netgalley<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3141859531?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:50:16 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Ten Thousand Doors of January]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3141859531?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>43517459</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654566478l/43517459._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654566478l/43517459._SY475_.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[<b> In the early 1900s, a young woman searches for her place in the world after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut. </b><br /><br />In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.<br /><br />Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.]]></book_description>
    <book id="43517459">
      <num_pages>385</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Alix E. Harrow</author_name>
    <isbn>0316421987</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:50:16 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 14 Jan 2020 10:15:29 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.22</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43517459-the-ten-thousand-doors-of-january?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Ten Thousand Doors of January" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654566478l/43517459._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Alix E. Harrow<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.22<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/22<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1440489991?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:30:39 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1440489991?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25104078</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433347107l/25104078._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433347107l/25104078._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433347107l/25104078.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Magic and mayhem collide with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut.</b><br /><br />At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.<br /><br />But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…]]></book_description>
    <book id="25104078">
      <num_pages>374</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Zen Cho</author_name>
    <isbn>0698409434</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 5 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:30:39 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Nov 2015 03:12:32 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2015, fantasy, ebook, library-book, kobo-aura, treebooks, humor]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Sorcerer Royal Zacharias tries to save Britain's magic in the midst of political machinations and personal intrigue.<br /><br />It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I figured out the way it was being told, it really got me. The international politics, magic, relationships, romance, and humor that bound it together made for a great combination in the end.<br /><br />Best I've read in a while.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25104078-sorcerer-to-the-crown?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433347107l/25104078._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Zen Cho<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.88<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/01/05<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/22<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2015, fantasy, ebook, library-book, kobo-aura, treebooks, humor<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Sorcerer Royal Zacharias tries to save Britain's magic in the midst of political machinations and personal intrigue.<br /><br />It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I figured out the way it was being told, it really got me. The international politics, magic, relationships, romance, and humor that bound it together made for a great combination in the end.<br /><br />Best I've read in a while.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6864886527?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 19:34:48 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Coming Home (Alex Benedict, #7)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6864886527?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>21944107</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397760211l/21944107._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397760211l/21944107._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397760211l/21944107.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[Thousands of years ago, artifacts of the early space age were lost to rising oceans and widespread turmoil. Garnett Baylee devoted his life to finding them, only to give up hope. Then, in the wake of his death, one was found in his home, raising tantalizing questions. Had he succeeded after all? Why had he kept it a secret? And where is the rest of the Apollo cache?<br /><br />Antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his pilot, Chase Kolpath, have gone to Earth to learn the truth. But the trail seems to have gone cold, so they head back home to be present when the Capella, the interstellar transport that vanished eleven years earlier in a time/space warp, is expected to reappear. With a window of only a few hours, rescuing it is of the utmost importance. Twenty-six hundred passengers—including Alex’s uncle, Gabriel Benedict, the man who raised him—are on board.<br /><br />Alex now finds his attention divided between finding the artifacts and anticipating the rescue of the Capella. But time won’t allow him to do both. As the deadline for the Capella’s reappearance draws near, Alex fears that the puzzle of the artifacts will be lost yet again. But Alex Benedict never forgets and never gives up—and another day will soon come around...]]></book_description>
    <book id="21944107">
      <num_pages>386</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jack McDevitt</author_name>
    <isbn>0698146506</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>2</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 19:34:48 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 09:43:19 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[ebook, library-book, science-fiction, kobo-aura, books-published-2014, dnf]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I made it about 40% of the way in, but couldn't finish. Coming Home was subpar compared to McDevitt's other books I've read.<br /><br />The plot wasn't as compelling and the story got pretty nostalgic at times (for things I didn't connect with). Most disappointing for me was the dialog--everyone seemed to have the same voice.<br /><br />I'll return to McDevitt, but I think with <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/42777-the-academy" rel="nofollow noopener">The Academy</a> books where I've had better luck.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.89</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21944107-coming-home?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Coming Home (Alex Benedict, #7)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397760211l/21944107._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jack McDevitt<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.89<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 2<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/08/18<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: ebook, library-book, science-fiction, kobo-aura, books-published-2014, dnf<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I made it about 40% of the way in, but couldn't finish. Coming Home was subpar compared to McDevitt's other books I've read.<br /><br />The plot wasn't as compelling and the story got pretty nostalgic at times (for things I didn't connect with). Most disappointing for me was the dialog--everyone seemed to have the same voice.<br /><br />I'll return to McDevitt, but I think with <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/42777-the-academy" rel="nofollow noopener">The Academy</a> books where I've had better luck.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1308473469?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 19:30:13 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Peripheral (Jackpot #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1308473469?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22010718</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408564231l/22010718._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408564231l/22010718._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408564231l/22010718.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>William Gibson returns with his first novel since 2010’s<i> New York Times</i>–bestselling <i>Zero History</i>.</b><br /><br /> <br /> Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran’s benefits, for neural damage he suffered from implants during his time in the USMC’s elite Haptic Recon force. Then one night Burton has to go out, but there’s a job he’s supposed to do—a job Flynne didn’t know he had. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her. The job seems to be simple: work a perimeter around the image of a tower building. Little buglike things turn up. He’s supposed to get in their way, edge them back. That’s all there is to it. He’s offering Flynne a good price to take over for him. What she sees, though, isn’t what Burton told her to expect. It might be a game, but it might also be murder. <br />]]></book_description>
    <book id="22010718">
      <num_pages>496</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>William Gibson</author_name>
    <isbn>0698170709</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 29 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 19:30:13 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 15 Jun 2015 06:13:30 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[ebook, library-book, kobo-aura, books-first-read-in-2015, stories-published-2014, dnf]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I've had a hard time getting into this book. Something about the dialog and description made the story hard to follow.<br /><br />I might try something else from Gibson (I've only ever read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22328.Neuromancer__Sprawl___1_" title="Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1) by William Gibson" rel="nofollow noopener">Neuromancer</a>, and that 15-20 years ago), and, if that one works out, return to this.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.13</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22010718-the-peripheral?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Peripheral (Jackpot #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408564231l/22010718._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: William Gibson<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.13<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/07/29<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: ebook, library-book, kobo-aura, books-first-read-in-2015, stories-published-2014, dnf<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I've had a hard time getting into this book. Something about the dialog and description made the story hard to follow.<br /><br />I might try something else from Gibson (I've only ever read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22328.Neuromancer__Sprawl___1_" title="Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1) by William Gibson" rel="nofollow noopener">Neuromancer</a>, and that 15-20 years ago), and, if that one works out, return to this.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1469976695?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:42:59 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1469976695?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>12513560</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328315517l/12513560._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328315517l/12513560._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328315517l/12513560.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA["A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought." *Los Angeles Times"POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing." *The Washington Post Book WorldHow can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms."COMPELLING." *USA Today"A clear vision of what good science means and why it makes a difference. . . . A testimonial to the power of science and a warning of the dangers of unrestrained credulity." *The Sciences"PASSIONATE." *San Francisco Examiner-ChronicleFrom the Trade Paperback edition.]]></book_description>
    <book id="12513560">
      <num_pages>457</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Carl Sagan</author_name>
    <isbn>0307801047</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:42:59 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:37:10 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.44</average_rating>
    <book_published>1995</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12513560-the-demon-haunted-world?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328315517l/12513560._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Carl Sagan<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.44<br/>
                                      book published: 1995<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1468780816?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:38:42 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[A Brief History of Seven Killings]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1468780816?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22348782</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401163655l/22348782._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>From the acclaimed author of <i>The Book of Night Women</i> comes an engrossing, richly detailed epic that explores the tumultuous world of Jamaica over the past three decades.</b><br /><br />In <i>A Brief History of Seven Killings</i>, Marlon James combines brilliant storytelling with his unrivaled skills of characterization and meticulous eye for detail to forge an enthralling novel of dazzling ambition and scope.]]></book_description>
    <book id="22348782">
      <num_pages>688</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Marlon James</author_name>
    <isbn>0698170504</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:38:42 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 14 Dec 2015 13:34:25 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22348782-a-brief-history-of-seven-killings?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Brief History of Seven Killings" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401163655l/22348782._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Marlon James<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.88<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1507748068?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 12:40:03 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (Watchmaker of Filigree Street, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1507748068?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25511627</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438613740l/25511627._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438613740l/25511627._SY475_.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>For readers of Jonathan Strange &amp; Mr. Norrell, an enchanting, bestselling novel that sweeps readers into a magical Victorian London </b><b>inhabited by a </b><b>clockwork octopus and a mysterious watchmaker who is not at all what he first appears.</b>1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.]]></book_description>
    <book id="25511627">
      <num_pages>336</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Natasha Pulley</author_name>
    <isbn>162040835X</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 12:40:03 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 12 Jan 2016 23:09:54 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25511627-the-watchmaker-of-filigree-street?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (Watchmaker of Filigree Street, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438613740l/25511627._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Natasha Pulley<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.86<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1570015518?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 12:24:59 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Man Who Fell to Earth</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1570015518?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23311049</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433216102l/23311049._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The basis for a feature film starring David Bowie in his first major role, <i>The Man Who Fell to Earth</i> tells the story of Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien disguised as a human who comes to Earth on a mission to save his people. Devastated by nuclear war, his home planet, Anthea, is no longer habitable. Newton lands in Kentucky and starts patenting Anthean technology, amassing the fortune he needs to build a spaceship that will bring the last 300 Anthean survivors to Earth.<br /><br />But instead of the help he seeks, he finds only self-destruction, sinking into alcoholism, abandoning his spaceship, and can save neither his people nor himself. This is the poignant story of a man fallen to addiction, materialism, and loneliness.<br /><br />“Beautiful science fiction... [Newton] acquires a moving, tragic force as the stranger, caught and destroyed in a strange land... The story of an extraterrestrial visitor from another planet is designed mainly to say something about life on this one.” —<i>The New York Times</i>]]></book_description>
    <book id="23311049">
      <num_pages>196</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Walter Tevis</author_name>
    <isbn>0795343035</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Mon, 7 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 12:24:59 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 05 Mar 2016 01:41:40 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[book-club, books-first-read-in-2016, ebook, kobo-aura, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Read this one for book club to honor David Bowie in a round about way. I'm not sure I'd have thought to read it otherwise, but I was glad I did.<br /><br />The farther into the book I got, the more a sense of surreality grew. It never dominated, just constantly grew in the back of mind. Newton's perception of the world made me wonder if we were experiencing the same place. Of course, given the nature of the story, that line of thinking could take me down endless philosophical rabbit-trails.<br /><br />There's also a persistent image throughout the book that makes me wonder if I'm missing a deeper layer. The title itself is a giveaway, but the first and last section headings ("Icarus Descending" and "Icarus Drowning") along with the repeated allusions to the Icarus myth in the story, the name Newton, and probably the Rumpelstiltskin tale alluded by the title to the middle section all repeat this idea of fallen creatures. The best I can come up with is something spiritual relating to fallen angels, but what little we get of Newton talking about his history and where he comes from leave me wondering where to go from there.<br /><br />Again, I doubt I'd have sought this book out, but I was glad to have read it. It certainly ages better than some other genre work from the early 60s, giving me things to think about.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.12</average_rating>
    <book_published>1963</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23311049-the-man-who-fell-to-earth?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Man Who Fell to Earth" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433216102l/23311049._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Walter Tevis<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.12<br/>
                                      book published: 1963<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/03/07<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: book-club, books-first-read-in-2016, ebook, kobo-aura, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Read this one for book club to honor David Bowie in a round about way. I'm not sure I'd have thought to read it otherwise, but I was glad I did.<br /><br />The farther into the book I got, the more a sense of surreality grew. It never dominated, just constantly grew in the back of mind. Newton's perception of the world made me wonder if we were experiencing the same place. Of course, given the nature of the story, that line of thinking could take me down endless philosophical rabbit-trails.<br /><br />There's also a persistent image throughout the book that makes me wonder if I'm missing a deeper layer. The title itself is a giveaway, but the first and last section headings ("Icarus Descending" and "Icarus Drowning") along with the repeated allusions to the Icarus myth in the story, the name Newton, and probably the Rumpelstiltskin tale alluded by the title to the middle section all repeat this idea of fallen creatures. The best I can come up with is something spiritual relating to fallen angels, but what little we get of Newton talking about his history and where he comes from leave me wondering where to go from there.<br /><br />Again, I doubt I'd have sought this book out, but I was glad to have read it. It certainly ages better than some other genre work from the early 60s, giving me things to think about.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4487482843?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 11:24:33 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Radical King</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4487482843?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>24476886</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435765962l/24476886._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>A revealing collection that restores Dr. King as being every bit as radical as Malcolm X</b><br /><br />“The radical King was a democratic socialist who sided with poor and working people in the class struggle taking place in capitalist societies. . . . The response of the radical King to our catastrophic moment can be put in one word: revolution—a revolution in our priorities, a reevaluation of our values, a reinvigoration of our public life, and a fundamental transformation of our way of thinking and living that promotes a transfer of power from oligarchs and plutocrats to everyday people and ordinary citizens. . . . Could it be that we know so little of the radical King because such courage defies our market-driven world?” —Cornel West, from the Introduction<br /><br /> Every year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is celebrated as one of the greatest orators in US history, an ambassador for nonviolence who became perhaps the most recognizable leader of the civil rights movement. But after more than forty years, few people appreciate how truly radical he was.<br /><br /> Arranged thematically in four parts, <i>The Radical King </i>includes twenty-three selections, curated and introduced by Dr. Cornel West, that illustrate King’s revolutionary vision, underscoring his identification with the poor, his unapologetic opposition to the Vietnam War, and his crusade against global imperialism. As West writes, “Although much of America did not know the radical King—and too few know today—the FBI and US government did. They called him ‘the most dangerous man in America.’ . . . This book unearths a radical King that we can no longer sanitize.”<br /><br /><br /><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>]]></book_description>
    <book id="24476886">
      <num_pages>321</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Martin Luther King Jr.</author_name>
    <isbn>0807012831</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 11:24:33 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Jan 2022 17:58:30 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>currently-reading</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.70</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24476886-the-radical-king?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Radical King" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435765962l/24476886._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Martin Luther King Jr.<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.70<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: currently-reading<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3347401753?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 10:46:25 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Hench (Hench, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3347401753?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>51200401</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p>
  <strong>A smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower—for good or ill—is a properly executed spreadsheet.</strong>
</p>Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy?<p> As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called “hero” leaves her badly injured.  And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she’s the lucky one.</p><p>So, of course, then she gets laid off.</p><p>With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks.</p><p>Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing.  And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance.</p><p>It’s not too long before she’s employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world.</p><p>A sharp, witty, modern debut, <em>Hench</em> explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics. </p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="51200401">
      <num_pages>400</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Natalie Zina Walschots</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 10:46:25 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 20 May 2020 13:07:32 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.21</average_rating>
    <book_published>2020</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51200401-hench?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Hench (Hench, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597747195l/51200401._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Natalie Zina Walschots<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.21<br/>
                                      book published: 2020<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1223823865?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 10:13:36 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Summer Prince</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1223823865?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17332532</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360008372l/17332532._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The lush city of Palmares Tres shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that's sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him including June's best friend, Gil. But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.<br /><br />Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Tres will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the governments strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17332532">
      <num_pages>304</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Alaya Dawn Johnson</author_name>
    <isbn>0545520770</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 1 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 10:13:36 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 10 Mar 2015 10:45:53 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[kobo-aura, library-book, books-first-read-in-2015, ebook, science-fiction, young-adult, books-published-2013]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Set in a sort of post-apocalyptic Brazil, this setting grabbed me early on. Add to it the society that grew out of a devastated population and let the main characters play with art. The final outcome is a good, original story, even for someone like me who generally avoids YA.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.71</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17332532-the-summer-prince?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Summer Prince" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360008372l/17332532._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Alaya Dawn Johnson<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.71<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/04/01<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: kobo-aura, library-book, books-first-read-in-2015, ebook, science-fiction, young-adult, books-published-2013<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Set in a sort of post-apocalyptic Brazil, this setting grabbed me early on. Add to it the society that grew out of a devastated population and let the main characters play with art. The final outcome is a good, original story, even for someone like me who generally avoids YA.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1877616833?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 09:37:08 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Waypoint Kangaroo (Kangaroo #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1877616833?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>29758284</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459560550l/29758284._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p>Kangaroo isn’t your typical spy. Sure, he has extensive agency training, access to bleeding-edge technology, and a ready supply of clever (to him) quips and retorts. But what sets him apart is “the pocket.” It’s a portal that opens into an empty, seemingly infinite, parallel universe, and Kangaroo is the only person in the world who can use it. But he's pretty sure the agency only keeps him around to exploit his superpower.</p><p>After he bungles yet another mission, Kangaroo gets sent away on a mandatory “vacation:” an interplanetary cruise to Mars. While he tries to make the most of his exile, two passengers are found dead, and Kangaroo has to risk blowing his cover. It turns out he isn’t the only spy on the ship–and he’s just starting to unravel a massive conspiracy which threatens the entire Solar System.</p><p>Now, Kangaroo has to stop a disaster which would shatter the delicate peace that’s existed between Earth and Mars ever since the brutal Martian Independence War. A new interplanetary conflict would be devastating for both sides. Millions of lives are at stake.</p><p>Weren’t vacations supposed to be relaxing?</p><p>With <i>Waypoint Kangaroo</i>, Chen makes his debut with this outer space thriller. Chen has an extensive network of connections to prominent science fiction authors, and has studied under John Scalzi, James Patrick Kelly, and Ursula K. LeGuin.</p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="29758284">
      <num_pages>321</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Curtis C. Chen</author_name>
    <isbn>1250081793</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 09:37:08 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 13 Jan 2017 01:29:12 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.09</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29758284-waypoint-kangaroo?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Waypoint Kangaroo (Kangaroo #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459560550l/29758284._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Curtis C. Chen<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.09<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1665032207?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 03:14:03 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Missing (Keeper, #2)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1665032207?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>8130688</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328302641l/8130688._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Something lurking in the woods threatens to destroy an entire town in Sarah Langan's brilliantly crafted second novel.<br /><br />Lois Larkin should never have taken her class to the woods for the field trip. Preoccupied by the betrayal of her fiancé she never even notices when little James Walker doesn't get back on the bus and suddenly the quiet, prosperous town of Corpus Christi is plunged into tragedy and united in shock.]]></book_description>
    <book id="8130688">
      <num_pages>414</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Sarah Langan</author_name>
    <isbn>0061847402</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Sep 2024 03:14:03 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:06:43 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, kobo-aura, books-first-read-in-2016, horror]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[A trouble-making schoolboy wanders through the woods and uncovers something evil.<br /><br />I recently went looking for modern horror novels written by women. Sarah Langan was one of the authors to come up, and this book was available on OverDrive, so it's where I started. About halfway through—when I entered it on goodreads—I noticed that it's the second in a series. I don't know anything about the first book. This one stands well on its own.<br /><br />I'm split on my rating. I almost gave it four stars, but there were a number of small things that just didn't let it work that well for me in the end.<br /><br />Langan's style and setting are reminiscent of Stephen King. Other people must've mentioned this. The small Maine town, the big cast of varied people, the almost caricaturistic depiction of their secrets. <br /><br />The book's monsters seemed both generic and original at the same time. The pacing was consistent all the way through when I wanted it to be more varied. The ending [spoilers removed]<br /><br />Even though I've got a somewhat cool reaction to the book, I'm looking forward to reading more from Langan. I'll try some of her short stories and look for novels that come after this one.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
    <book_published>2007</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8130688-the-missing?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Missing (Keeper, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328302641l/8130688._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Sarah Langan<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.59<br/>
                                      book published: 2007<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/06/16<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/21<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, kobo-aura, books-first-read-in-2016, horror<br/>
                                      review: <br/>A trouble-making schoolboy wanders through the woods and uncovers something evil.<br /><br />I recently went looking for modern horror novels written by women. Sarah Langan was one of the authors to come up, and this book was available on OverDrive, so it's where I started. About halfway through—when I entered it on goodreads—I noticed that it's the second in a series. I don't know anything about the first book. This one stands well on its own.<br /><br />I'm split on my rating. I almost gave it four stars, but there were a number of small things that just didn't let it work that well for me in the end.<br /><br />Langan's style and setting are reminiscent of Stephen King. Other people must've mentioned this. The small Maine town, the big cast of varied people, the almost caricaturistic depiction of their secrets. <br /><br />The book's monsters seemed both generic and original at the same time. The pacing was consistent all the way through when I wanted it to be more varied. The ending [spoilers removed]<br /><br />Even though I've got a somewhat cool reaction to the book, I'm looking forward to reading more from Langan. I'll try some of her short stories and look for novels that come after this one.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5053116585?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 20 Sep 2024 21:01:02 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5053116585?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>36153880</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506001602l/36153880._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas?</i><br /><br />Sci-fi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is.<br /><br />And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.]]></book_description>
    <book id="36153880">
      <num_pages>158</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Martha Wells</author_name>
    <isbn>1250185432</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 20 Sep 2024 21:01:02 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Oct 2022 09:28:00 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2022, books-published-2018, science-fiction, book-club, kobo-aura-one, ebook, five-star-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.41</average_rating>
    <book_published>2018</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36153880-rogue-protocol?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506001602l/36153880._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Martha Wells<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.41<br/>
                                      book published: 2018<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/10/18<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/20<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2022, books-published-2018, science-fiction, book-club, kobo-aura-one, ebook, five-star-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/651768871?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 20 Sep 2024 19:32:54 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (Vorkosigan Saga, #15)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/651768871?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17847443</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366855348l/17847443._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Captain Ivan Vorpatril is happy with his relatively uneventful bachelor's life of a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral. Ivan, cousin to Imperial troubleshooter Miles Vorkosigan, is not far down the hereditary list for the emperorship. Thankfully, new heirs have directed that headache elsewhere, leaving Ivan to enjoy his life on Komarr, far from the Byzantine court politics of his home system. But when an old friend in Barrayaran intelligence asks Ivan to protect an attractive young woman who may be on the hit list of a criminal syndicate, Ivan's chivalrous nature takes over. It seems danger and adventures have once more found Captain Vorpatril.<br /><br />Tej Arqua and her half-sister and servant Rish are fleeing the violent overthrow of their clan on free-for-all planet Jackson's Whole. Now it seems Tej may possess a hidden secret of which even she may not be aware. It's a secret that could corrupt the heart of a highly regarded Barayarran family and provide the final advantage for the thugs who seek to overthrow Tej's homeworld.<br /><br />But none of Tej's formidable adversaries have counted on Ivan Vorpatril. For behind Ivan's façade of wry and self effacing humor lies a true and cunning protector who will never leave a distressed lady in the lurch—up to and including making the ultimate sacrifice to keep her from harm: the treasured and hardwon freedom from his own fate as a scion of Barrayar.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17847443">
      <num_pages>432</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Lois McMaster Bujold</author_name>
    <isbn>1618249592</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 20 Sep 2024 19:32:54 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 26 Jun 2013 12:01:08 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[science-fiction, books-first-read-in-2013, ebook]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[This is the first Vorkosigan novel I've read. Because of my reading tastes, it didn't stand out above a high three stars at first. But as I read, I realized that Bujold has an unassuming mastery in the way she combines character and story. I'm eager to go back and read the previous stories in this series, and will be looking for other stuff she's written.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.39</average_rating>
    <book_published>2012</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17847443-captain-vorpatril-s-alliance?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Captain Vorpatril&#39;s Alliance (Vorkosigan Saga, #15)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1366855348l/17847443._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Lois McMaster Bujold<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.39<br/>
                                      book published: 2012<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2013/07/31<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/20<br/>
                                      shelves: science-fiction, books-first-read-in-2013, ebook<br/>
                                      review: <br/>This is the first Vorkosigan novel I've read. Because of my reading tastes, it didn't stand out above a high three stars at first. But as I read, I realized that Bujold has an unassuming mastery in the way she combines character and story. I'm eager to go back and read the previous stories in this series, and will be looking for other stuff she's written.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1595951836?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:05:00 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Emperor of the Eight Islands (Tale of Shikanoko, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1595951836?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28286536</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450932704l/28286536._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p>In the opening pages of the action-packed Book One of Lian Hearn's epic Tale of Shikanoko series--all of which will be published in 2016--a future lord is dispossessed of his birthright by a scheming uncle, a mountain sorcerer imbues a mask with the spirit of a great stag for a lost young man, a stubborn father forces his son to give up his wife to his older brother, and a powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne, the child who is the rightful heir to the emperor barely escaping the capital in the arms of his sister. And that is just the beginning.</p><p>As destiny weaves its rich tapestry, a compelling drama plays out against a background of wild forests, elegant castles, hidden temples, and savage battlefields. This is the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's imagination, where animal spirits clash with warriors and children navigate a landscape as serene as it is deadly.</p><p>The Tale of Shikanoko, Book One: <i>Emperor of the Eight Islands</i> (April 2016)<br />The Tale of Shikanoko, Book Two: <i>Autumn Princess, Dragon Child</i> (June 2016)<br />The Tale of Shikanoko, Book Three: <i>Lord of the Darkwood</i> (August 2016)<br />The Tale of Shikanoko, Book Four: <i>The Tengu's Game of Go</i> (September 2016)</p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="28286536">
      <num_pages>274</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Lian Hearn</author_name>
    <isbn>0374715017</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:05:00 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 30 Mar 2016 23:51:45 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-published-2016</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.94</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28286536-emperor-of-the-eight-islands?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Emperor of the Eight Islands (Tale of Shikanoko, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450932704l/28286536._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Lian Hearn<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.94<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/18<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-published-2016<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1449672917?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 17 Sep 2024 23:58:40 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Magic or Madness (Magic or Madness, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1449672917?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>11270691</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328333744l/11270691._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA]]></book_description>
    <book id="11270691">
      <num_pages>300</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Justine Larbalestier</author_name>
    <isbn>1101525592</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 26 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 17 Sep 2024 23:58:40 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Nov 2015 20:27:33 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2015, ebook, kobo-aura, library-book, young-adult]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Reason's mother raised her on the run from her grandmother. When her mother is taken to the mental hospital, Reason discovers that the world is much different than she was taught.<br /><br />I can't figure out why I don't usually go for YA. This book was fine, but the things that seemed they were supposed to charm me didn't. There were a lot of elements here that seemed good, but things just didn't come together in the end. I'm about to read another book from Larbalestier. Hopefully, I like it better.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.40</average_rating>
    <book_published>2005</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11270691-magic-or-madness?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Magic or Madness (Magic or Madness, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328333744l/11270691._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Justine Larbalestier<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.40<br/>
                                      book published: 2005<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/11/26<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/17<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2015, ebook, kobo-aura, library-book, young-adult<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Reason's mother raised her on the run from her grandmother. When her mother is taken to the mental hospital, Reason discovers that the world is much different than she was taught.<br /><br />I can't figure out why I don't usually go for YA. This book was fine, but the things that seemed they were supposed to charm me didn't. There were a lot of elements here that seemed good, but things just didn't come together in the end. I'm about to read another book from Larbalestier. Hopefully, I like it better.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2911880141?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 17 Sep 2024 05:00:34 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Prey of Gods</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2911880141?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>30129154</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1482783962l/30129154._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<strong>From a new voice in the tradition of Lauren Beukes, Ian McDonald, and Nnedi Okorafor comes <em>The Prey of Gods,</em> a fantastic, boundary-challenging tale, set in a South African locale both familiar and yet utterly new, which braids elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and dark humor.</strong><br /><br />In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes—the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present <br /><br /><em>A new hallucinogenic drug sweeping the country . . .</em><br /><br /><em>An emerging AI uprising . . .</em><br /><br /><em>And an ancient demigoddess hellbent on regaining her former status by preying on the blood and sweat (but mostly blood) of every human she encounters.</em><br /><br />It’s up to a young Zulu girl powerful enough to destroy her entire township, a queer teen plagued with the ability to control minds, a pop diva with serious daddy issues, and a politician with even more serious mommy issues to band together to ensure there’s a future left to worry about.<br /><br />Fun and fantastic, Nicky Drayden takes her brilliance as a short story writer and weaves together an elaborate tale that will capture your heart . . . even as one particular demigoddess threatens to rip it out.]]></book_description>
    <book id="30129154">
      <num_pages>400</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nicky Drayden</author_name>
    <isbn>0062493043</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 1 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 17 Sep 2024 05:00:34 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 26 Jul 2019 09:11:54 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[to-read, books-first-read-in-2019, library-book, books-published-2017, treebooks, ebook, kobo-aura-one, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30129154-the-prey-of-gods?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Prey of Gods" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1482783962l/30129154._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nicky Drayden<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.76<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2019/02/01<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/17<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-first-read-in-2019, library-book, books-published-2017, treebooks, ebook, kobo-aura-one, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1295498107?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 16 Sep 2024 23:41:38 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Ghost Bride</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1295498107?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18196256</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373914298l/18196256._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>A startlingly original voice makes her literary debut with this wondrous coming-of-age story infused with Chinese folklore, romantic intrigue, adventure, and fascinating, dreamlike twists.</i><br /><br /><b>'One evening, my father asked me whether I would like to become a ghost bride...'</b><br /><br />Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.<br /><br />Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, traditional ghost marriages are used to placate restless spirits. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.<br /><br />After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lims' handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits, and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.]]></book_description>
    <book id="18196256">
      <num_pages>373</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Yangsze Choo</author_name>
    <isbn>0062227386</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 16 Sep 2024 23:41:38 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 31 May 2015 22:05:50 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.94</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18196256-the-ghost-bride?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Ghost Bride" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373914298l/18196256._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Yangsze Choo<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.94<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/16<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1349205352?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:29:22 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Dark Between the Stars: The Saga of Shadows, Book One]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1349205352?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>21395389</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394171478l/21395389._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Twenty years after the elemental conflict that nearly tore apart the cosmos in The Saga of Seven Suns, a new threat emerges from the darkness. The human race must set aside its own inner conflicts to rebuild their alliance with the Ildiran Empire for the survival of the galaxy. <br />In Kevin J. Anderson's <i>The Dark Between the Stars</i>, galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and factions of humanity are pitted against each other. Heroes rise and enemies make their last stands in the climax of an epic tale seven years in the making.<br /><br /><br />At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]></book_description>
    <book id="21395389">
      <num_pages>673</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Kevin J. Anderson</author_name>
    <isbn>1466856564</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 29 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:29:22 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 29 Jul 2015 17:50:51 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[dnf, 2015-hugo-nominee, books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2014, ebook, kobo-aura]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I read this for the 2015 Hugos and bounced off it. I made it about 25% of the way through before I felt okay setting it down.<br /><br />In the first dozen chapters or so, the dialog seemed stiff and I wasn't too convinced by most of the characters. It got better, though, once the story got going. Still, the chapters were so short that I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight in my head. Not that I have a problem with lots of characters. It's just that in something like A Song of Ice and Fire, I've got enough time with each character that they solidify in my mind.<br /><br />The fire planet was also a bit too over-the-top for me. Pretty sure it'd be great in in TV/Film, but I wasn't buying it here.<br /><br />I also got too much of a Star Wars knock-off vibe. Maybe it's because I know that Anderson has written Star Wars books. In fact, I think I might check out some of those books.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.80</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21395389-the-dark-between-the-stars?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Dark Between the Stars: The Saga of Shadows, Book One" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394171478l/21395389._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Kevin J. Anderson<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.80<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: 2015/07/29<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/13<br/>
                                      shelves: dnf, 2015-hugo-nominee, books-first-read-in-2015, books-published-2014, ebook, kobo-aura<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I read this for the 2015 Hugos and bounced off it. I made it about 25% of the way through before I felt okay setting it down.<br /><br />In the first dozen chapters or so, the dialog seemed stiff and I wasn't too convinced by most of the characters. It got better, though, once the story got going. Still, the chapters were so short that I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight in my head. Not that I have a problem with lots of characters. It's just that in something like A Song of Ice and Fire, I've got enough time with each character that they solidify in my mind.<br /><br />The fire planet was also a bit too over-the-top for me. Pretty sure it'd be great in in TV/Film, but I wasn't buying it here.<br /><br />I also got too much of a Star Wars knock-off vibe. Maybe it's because I know that Anderson has written Star Wars books. In fact, I think I might check out some of those books.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/956286271?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Sep 2024 23:33:10 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Neptune's Brood (Freyaverse, #2)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/956286271?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18663975</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1384804229l/18663975._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The year is AD 7000. The human species is extinct—for the fourth time—due to its fragile nature.<br /><br />Krina Alizond-114 is metahuman, descended from the robots that once served humanity. She’s on a journey to the water-world of Shin-Tethys to find her sister Ana. But her trip is interrupted when pirates capture her ship. Their leader, the enigmatic Count Rudi, suspects that there’s more to Krina’s search than meets the eye.<br /><br />He’s correct: Krina and Ana each possess half of the fabled Atlantis Carnet, a lost financial instrument of unbelievable value—capable of bringing down entire civilizations. Krina doesn’t know that Count Rudi suspects her motives, so she accepts his offer to get her to Shin-Tethys in exchange for an introduction to Ana.<br /><br />And what neither of them suspects is that a ruthless body-double assassin has stalked Krina across the galaxy, ready to take the Carnet once it is whole—and leave no witnesses alive to tell the tale…]]></book_description>
    <book id="18663975">
      <num_pages>337</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Charles Stross</author_name>
    <isbn>1101624531</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Sun, 22 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Sep 2024 23:33:10 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 03 Jun 2014 01:20:33 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2014, books-published-2013, ebook, science-fiction, library-book, 2014-hugo-nominee]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[This one was slow going. There was a lot of talk in here about economics and banking, usually given as info dumps. I've seen a number of other people mention quitting the book because of these dumps, which is understandable, but the core adventure/mystery story kept me going.<br /><br />Stross also has a good sense of humor. There were a number of place he got me to chuckle audibly. And the financial stuff also functions on the level of satire. I don't think I'll be reading through it again, but I'm sure if I'd given more careful attention, I could have come up with an analysis of the book on that level.<br /><br />I enjoyed the world. It's been a while since I've read hard SF on this level (no FTL, realistic space travel/battle/maneuvering, transhumanism, &amp; al.) and it worked for me.<br /><br />As a fan of Terry Gilliam, I *loved* the (not insignificant) reference to one of his works.<br /><br />Given how Stross seems to get a bit info-dumpy here combined with what I've read of his blog, I'm not sure I'll go out of my way for a lot of his stuff. The Laundry Files are an exception, at least based on what I've read of them. The humor level is cranked in those stories, and it works well for them. Given that, I'm looking forward to reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18211306.Equoid__Laundry_Files___2_9_" title="Equoid (Laundry Files, #2.9) by Charles Stross" rel="nofollow noopener">Equoid</a>.<br /><br />This is the second novel I've read in the 2014 Hugo Nominee list, and it ranks second so far, below <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324.Ancillary_Justice__Imperial_Radch___1_" title="Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1) by Ann Leckie" rel="nofollow noopener">Ancillary Justice</a>.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.05</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18663975-neptune-s-brood?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Neptune&#39;s Brood (Freyaverse, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1384804229l/18663975._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Charles Stross<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.05<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/06/22<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/12<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2014, books-published-2013, ebook, science-fiction, library-book, 2014-hugo-nominee<br/>
                                      review: <br/>This one was slow going. There was a lot of talk in here about economics and banking, usually given as info dumps. I've seen a number of other people mention quitting the book because of these dumps, which is understandable, but the core adventure/mystery story kept me going.<br /><br />Stross also has a good sense of humor. There were a number of place he got me to chuckle audibly. And the financial stuff also functions on the level of satire. I don't think I'll be reading through it again, but I'm sure if I'd given more careful attention, I could have come up with an analysis of the book on that level.<br /><br />I enjoyed the world. It's been a while since I've read hard SF on this level (no FTL, realistic space travel/battle/maneuvering, transhumanism, &amp; al.) and it worked for me.<br /><br />As a fan of Terry Gilliam, I *loved* the (not insignificant) reference to one of his works.<br /><br />Given how Stross seems to get a bit info-dumpy here combined with what I've read of his blog, I'm not sure I'll go out of my way for a lot of his stuff. The Laundry Files are an exception, at least based on what I've read of them. The humor level is cranked in those stories, and it works well for them. Given that, I'm looking forward to reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18211306.Equoid__Laundry_Files___2_9_" title="Equoid (Laundry Files, #2.9) by Charles Stross" rel="nofollow noopener">Equoid</a>.<br /><br />This is the second novel I've read in the 2014 Hugo Nominee list, and it ranks second so far, below <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324.Ancillary_Justice__Imperial_Radch___1_" title="Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1) by Ann Leckie" rel="nofollow noopener">Ancillary Justice</a>.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/692883450?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Sep 2024 18:00:09 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The God Engines</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/692883450?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>8570909</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328340595l/8570909._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328340595l/8570909._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328340595l/8570909.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this -- and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given.Tephe knows from that the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It’s what he doesn’t know that to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put -- and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely...Author John Scalzi has ascended to the top ranks of modern science fiction with the best-selling, Hugo-nominated novels Old Man’s War and Zoe’s Tale. Now he tries his hand at fantasy, with a dark and different novella that takes your expectations of what fantasy is and does, and sends them tumbling.Say your prayers... and behold The God Engines]]></book_description>
    <book id="8570909">
      <num_pages>136</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>John Scalzi</author_name>
    <isbn>1596063467</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Mon, 12 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Sep 2024 18:00:09 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:18:52 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[religious, science-fiction, short-stories, stories-first-read-in-2013, ebook]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[As always, a fun and interesting story from Scalzi. This one is outside his Old Man's War universe.<br /><br />Not many stories I've read have done space travel and "high tech" through supernatural means -- gods in this case -- and I like it.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.82</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8570909-the-god-engines?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The God Engines" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328340595l/8570909._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: John Scalzi<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.82<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2013/08/12<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/12<br/>
                                      shelves: religious, science-fiction, short-stories, stories-first-read-in-2013, ebook<br/>
                                      review: <br/>As always, a fun and interesting story from Scalzi. This one is outside his Old Man's War universe.<br /><br />Not many stories I've read have done space travel and "high tech" through supernatural means -- gods in this case -- and I like it.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1599400698?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Sep 2024 04:29:06 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[A Crown for Cold Silver (The Crimson Empire #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1599400698?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23752395</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418240215l/23752395._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>"It was all going so nicely, right up until the massacre."</b>Twenty years ago, feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history. Now the peace she carved for herself has been shattered by the unprovoked slaughter of her village. Seeking bloody vengeance, Zosia heads for battle once more, but to find justice she must confront grudge-bearing enemies, once-loyal allies, and an unknown army that marches under a familiar banner.Five villans. One Legendary General. A final quest for vengence.]]></book_description>
    <book id="23752395">
      <num_pages>656</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Alex   Marshall</author_name>
    <isbn>0316277991</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Sep 2024 04:29:06 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 03 Apr 2016 11:47:12 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.89</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23752395-a-crown-for-cold-silver?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Crown for Cold Silver (The Crimson Empire #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418240215l/23752395._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Alex   Marshall<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.89<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/12<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1563180154?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 18:24:51 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Breath of Earth (Blood of Earth, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1563180154?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25750550</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453486972l/25750550._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>After the Earth’s power is suddenly left unprotected, a young geomancer must rely on her unique magical powers to survive in in this fresh fantasy series from the author of acclaimed <i>The Clockwork Dagger</i>.</b><br /><br />In an alternate 1906, the United States and Japan have forged a powerful confederation—the Unified Pacific—in an attempt to dominate the world. Their first target is a vulnerable China. In San Francisco, headstrong Ingrid Carmichael is assisting a group of powerful geomancer Wardens who have no idea of the depth of her power—or that she is the only woman to possess such skills. <br /><br />When assassins kill the Wardens, Ingrid and her mentor are protected by her incredible magic. But the pair is far from safe. Without its full force of guardian geomancers, the city is on the brink of a cataclysmic earthquake that will expose Earth’s powers to masterminds determined to control the energy for their own dark ends. The danger escalates when Chinese refugees, preparing to fight the encroaching American and Japanese, fracture the uneasy alliance between the Pacific allies, transforming the city into a veritable powder keg. And the slightest tremor will set it off. . . . <br /><br />Forced on the run, Ingrid makes some shocking discoveries about herself. Her powerful magic has grown even more fearsome . . . and she may be the fulcrum on which the balance of world power rests.]]></book_description>
    <book id="25750550">
      <num_pages>400</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Beth Cato</author_name>
    <isbn>0062422073</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 18:24:51 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 28 Feb 2016 03:03:05 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25750550-breath-of-earth?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Breath of Earth (Blood of Earth, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453486972l/25750550._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Beth Cato<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.72<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/11<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1912824216?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:42:41 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Six Wakes</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1912824216?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>33666228</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483313128l/33666228._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_large_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483313128l/33666228._SY475_.jpg]]></book_large_image_url>
    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>In this Hugo nominated science fiction thriller by Mur Lafferty, a crew of clones awakens aboard a space ship to find they're being hunted-and any one of them could be the killer.</b>Maria Arena awakens in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. She has no memory of how she died. This is new; before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died.Maria's vat is one of seven, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Dormire, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so it can awaken. And Maria isn't the only one to die recently. . .<b>Unlock the bold new science fiction thriller that Corey Doctorow calls Mur's "breakout book".</b>]]></book_description>
    <book id="33666228">
      <num_pages>400</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Mur Lafferty</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 17 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:42:41 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 13 Feb 2017 20:04:00 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-published-2017, books-first-read-in-2017, science-fiction, kobo-aura, ebook]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Six clones wake up on a colonization ship to find that their previous incarnations were all murdered. Secrets start to come out as they try to find the murderer.<br /><br />I first heard this described as being like "Lost" in space. Of course, hearing that over audio only, it sounds like the it's like "Lost in Space." Yeah. More the former. Not so much the latter.<br /><br />I had lots of fun with this story, though I had to take a break for a bit to keep up with book club reading. It's the sort of story which, the closer I got to the end, the more I wanted to read it. Compelling. I also want to read more in this world. Not so much a direct sequel, but maybe stories from earlier in Earth's clone timeline and later.<br /><br />Good stuff. And, as a fan of Mur's, I'm always happy to get new fiction from her.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.82</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33666228-six-wakes?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Six Wakes" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483313128l/33666228._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Mur Lafferty<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.82<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2017/03/17<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/11<br/>
                                      shelves: books-published-2017, books-first-read-in-2017, science-fiction, kobo-aura, ebook<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Six clones wake up on a colonization ship to find that their previous incarnations were all murdered. Secrets start to come out as they try to find the murderer.<br /><br />I first heard this described as being like "Lost" in space. Of course, hearing that over audio only, it sounds like the it's like "Lost in Space." Yeah. More the former. Not so much the latter.<br /><br />I had lots of fun with this story, though I had to take a break for a bit to keep up with book club reading. It's the sort of story which, the closer I got to the end, the more I wanted to read it. Compelling. I also want to read more in this world. Not so much a direct sequel, but maybe stories from earlier in Earth's clone timeline and later.<br /><br />Good stuff. And, as a fan of Mur's, I'm always happy to get new fiction from her.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6839451136?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:12:30 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[A Voice on The Radio (The Witch Who Came In From The Cold #1.2)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6839451136?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28575438</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1452889510l/28575438._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Tanya enjoys some quality family time. Gabe gets an introduction to magic.</i><br /><br />Tanya and Nadia continue their pursuit of the young Host Andula Zlata even as Flame agents are drawn to her magic like sharks to blood. Meanwhile, seeking to redeem himself after his botched recruitment of Drahomir, Gabe sets out to thwart Tanya, believing her interest in Andula is part of a nefarious KGB plot. Now, as preparations for a major CIA operation dubbed ANCHISES get underway, Gabe and his partner, Joshua Toms—a man with secrets of his own—are about to find themselves in over their heads.<br /> <br />This episode is brought to you by Cassandra Rose Clarke who knows a thing or two about secrets.<br /><br />“A Voice on the Radio” continues the 13-part serial, <a href="https://www.serialbox.com/serials/562e8c19ada6e225e83bff0b" rel="nofollow noopener">
  <i>The Witch Who Came In From The Cold</i>
</a>, presented by <a href="https://www.serialbox.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Serial Box</a>. This espionage fantasy is brought to you by Lindsay Smith, Max Gladstone, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ian Tregillis, and Michael Swanwick.<br /><br />Join the intrigue and mind your secrets, week after week, on <a href="https://www.serialbox.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Serial Box.com</a>.<br /><br />And don’t forget to share the love! If you’re enjoying <i>The Witch Who Came In From The Cold</i>, help us get the word out by liking us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SerialBoxPub/" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook</a>, following us on <a href="https://twitter.com/serialboxpub" rel="nofollow noopener">Twitter</a> and telling your friends about us! We’d also love to hear what you think so please give us a review! <br /><br /><i>“The Witch Who Came in from the Cold is a chilly evocation of a different kind of Cold War.”</i> <br /><b>– Charles Stross, author of the Laundry Files series</b><br /><br /><i>“Take a double shot of Le Carré, a dash of Deighton, a twist of Quiller, a splash of Al Stewart’s “The Year of the Cat,” throw in a jigger full of elemental magic, mix well … and voilà! The Witch Who Came In From The Cold.”</i> <br /><b>– Victor Milan, author of <i>The Dinosaur Lords</i></b><br /><br /><i>“The occult love child of John le Carre and The Sandbaggers.”</i><br /><b>– Marie Brennan, author of The Memoirs of Lady Trent</b> <br /><br />Location: Prague. Time: 1970. Two things this city was lousy with: spies and witches.  <br /><i>"As soon as I saw that, I was instantly hooked, and the pilot jacked the intrigue to the max. Two female Soviet spy witches, an American spy with something weird drilling magical holes in his head, and a world of secrets within secrets in a locale where old-world myth and the Cold War face off, pedal to the metal . . . it’s awesome. Or as we said in 1970, Far out.”</i><br /><b>– Sherwood Smith, author of <i>Crown Duel</i></b>]]></book_description>
    <book id="28575438">
      <num_pages>64</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Cassandra Rose Clarke</author_name>
    <isbn>1682100472</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 31 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:12:30 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:09:29 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[kobo-aura, stories-first-read-in-2016, ebook, contemporary-fantasy, serial, stories-published-2016]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[The suspense increases as the two sides pursue the people who will potentially help them. Magic and spycraft abound.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.77</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28575438-a-voice-on-the-radio?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Voice on The Radio (The Witch Who Came In From The Cold #1.2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1452889510l/28575438._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Cassandra Rose Clarke<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.77<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/05/31<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/11<br/>
                                      shelves: kobo-aura, stories-first-read-in-2016, ebook, contemporary-fantasy, serial, stories-published-2016<br/>
                                      review: <br/>The suspense increases as the two sides pursue the people who will potentially help them. Magic and spycraft abound.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3246707151?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 10:03:49 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3246707151?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>36154341</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591120834l/36154341._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>A leading new voice on race and justice lays bare what it's like to grow up a black woman in white Christian America, in this idea-driven memoir about how her determined quest for identity, understanding, and justice shows a way forward for us all.</b><br /><br />"I had to learn to love blackness," Austin Channing Brown writes near the beginning of this searing, page-turning memoir. As a black woman whose parents gave her a white man's name, Austin grew up attending white, Christian schools and has spent most of her life navigating the choppy waters of racial inequality, gender, assimilation, and cultural conflicts that have played out at large in stories of police violence, campus unrest, and the national conversation over Black Lives Matter. <br /><br /><i>The Space Between</i> is a book about how, even in a time when predominantly white institutions (churches, school, universities, etc.) are trying to get it right, there remain many ways in which we are blinded to the realities and effects of racial bias in our midst. Having stood in that gap as a leading speaker and practitioner helping churches and faith-based universities to practice genuine ethnic inclusion, Austin shares her experience as a way of holding a mirror up to the failures and blind spots of white culture--pinpointing the injustice in us that produces injustice in the world--while also offering the hope of her conviction that God is still working in the world, and can help us in our efforts to make that world a more just place.]]></book_description>
    <book id="36154341">
      <num_pages>192</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Austin Channing Brown</author_name>
    <isbn>1524760862</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 25 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 10:03:49 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 25 Mar 2020 14:55:33 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, kobo-aura-one, non-fiction, books-first-read-in-2020, books-published-2018, ebook, social-issues, race]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Great book. Quick read. Tied in with my christian background, though I didn't realized it'd do that at first. When I was done, I wanted to recommend it to all my christian friends. It also ties in with feminism, although that's in the background.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.52</average_rating>
    <book_published>2018</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36154341-i-m-still-here?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="I&#39;m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591120834l/36154341._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Austin Channing Brown<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.52<br/>
                                      book published: 2018<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2020/03/25<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/11<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, kobo-aura-one, non-fiction, books-first-read-in-2020, books-published-2018, ebook, social-issues, race<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Great book. Quick read. Tied in with my christian background, though I didn't realized it'd do that at first. When I was done, I wanted to recommend it to all my christian friends. It also ties in with feminism, although that's in the background.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1893570091?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 02:38:52 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Lathe of Heaven</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1893570091?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22007410</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398304130l/22007410._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[For the first time as an eBook, a science fiction classic by one of the greatest writers in any genre.<br /><br />Winner of the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, the Locus Award, and one of the most acclaimed writers in science fiction, Ursula Le Guin’s classic novel The Lathe of Heaven imagines a world in which one man’s dreams can change all of our realities.<br /><br />In a world beset by climate instability and overpopulation, George Orr discovers that his dreams have the power to alter reality. Upon waking, the world he knew has become a strange, barely recognizable place, where only George has the clear memory of how it was before. He seeks counseling from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately understands how powerful a weapon George wields. Soon, George is a pawn in Haber’s dangerous game, where the fate of humanity grows more imperiled with every waking hour. <br /><br />As relevant to our current world as it was when it won the Locus Award, Ursula Le Guin’s novel is a true classic, at once eerie and prescient, wildly entertaining and ferociously intelligent.]]></book_description>
    <book id="22007410">
      <num_pages>155</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ursula K. Le Guin</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 11 Sep 2024 02:38:52 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 27 Jan 2017 00:36:56 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[books-first-read-in-2017, book-club, ebook, kobo-aura, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.16</average_rating>
    <book_published>1971</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22007410-the-lathe-of-heaven?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Lathe of Heaven" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398304130l/22007410._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ursula K. Le Guin<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.16<br/>
                                      book published: 1971<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2017/01/27<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/11<br/>
                                      shelves: books-first-read-in-2017, book-club, ebook, kobo-aura, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2447667330?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 10 Sep 2024 23:55:17 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2447667330?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>20410192</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410065920l/20410192._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization.</b><br /><br />The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.<br /><br />This is the twelfth expedition.<br /><br />Their group is made up of four an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.<br /><br />They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers — they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding — but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.]]></book_description>
    <book id="20410192">
      <num_pages>210</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jeff Vandermeer</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 6 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 10 Sep 2024 23:55:17 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 06 Jul 2018 11:32:44 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[book-club, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2014, ebook, kobo-aura, kobo-touch, nature, weird]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.82</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20410192-annihilation?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410065920l/20410192._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jeff Vandermeer<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.82<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/07/06<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/10<br/>
                                      shelves: book-club, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2014, ebook, kobo-aura, kobo-touch, nature, weird<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1093983114?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 28 Aug 2024 14:23:06 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Morph</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1093983114?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23484518</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414771135l/23484518._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_medium_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414771135l/23484518._SX98_.jpg]]></book_medium_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Master of the macabre David Lubar turns his attention to dark and twisted tales for teens with <i>Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge</i><br /><br />A group of high school girls takes revenge on their sadistic gym teacher in the most fitting way possible. Two stowaways find themselves on a ship for the dead. An ancient predator stalks the wrong victim. Here are thirteen tales of death, murder, and revenge from the fertile and febrile imagination of master storyteller David Lubar—his first story collection for the teen audience.]]></book_description>
    <book id="23484518">
      <num_pages>20</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>David Lubar</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 28 Aug 2024 14:23:06 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 31 Oct 2014 18:02:10 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[horror, stories-first-read-in-2014]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[A boy witnesses a murder, but there's something different about the killer.<br /><br />Fun Halloween read. There were lots of race comments. Fun magic.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.09</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23484518-morph?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Morph" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414771135l/23484518._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: David Lubar<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.09<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/10/31<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/28<br/>
                                      shelves: horror, stories-first-read-in-2014<br/>
                                      review: <br/>A boy witnesses a murder, but there's something different about the killer.<br /><br />Fun Halloween read. There were lots of race comments. Fun magic.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1546004666?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Aug 2024 12:26:56 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Hidden Figures: Young Readers' Edition of Hidden Figures—Celebrating African American Women Pioneers at NASA]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1546004666?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>29555236</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490407450l/29555236._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p>Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program—and whose contributions have been unheralded, until now.</p><p>Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as “Human Computers,” calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws, these “colored computers,” as they were known, used slide rules, adding machines, and pencil and paper to support America’s fledgling aeronautics industry, and helped write the equations that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.</p><p>Drawing on the oral histories of scores of these “computers,” personal recollections, interviews with NASA executives and engineers, archival documents, correspondence, and reporting from the era, <em>Hidden Figures</em> recalls America’s greatest adventure and NASA’s groundbreaking successes through the experiences of five spunky, courageous, intelligent, determined, and patriotic women: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and Gloria Champine.</p>Moving from World War II through NASA’s golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the women’s rights movement, <em>Hidden Figures</em> interweaves a rich history of scientific achievement and technological innovation with the intimate stories of five women whose work forever changed the world—and whose lives show how out of one of America’s most painful histories came one of its proudest moments.]]></book_description>
    <book id="29555236">
      <num_pages>370</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Margot Lee Shetterly</author_name>
    <isbn>0062363611</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Aug 2024 12:26:56 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 12 Feb 2016 06:29:27 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.03</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29555236-hidden-figures?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Hidden Figures: Young Readers&#39; Edition of Hidden Figures—Celebrating African American Women Pioneers at NASA" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490407450l/29555236._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Margot Lee Shetterly<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.03<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/13<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1685773621?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Aug 2024 10:32:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Supernova (Lightless, #2)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1685773621?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28419812</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451615273l/28419812._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[C. A. Higgins’s acclaimed novel <i>Lightless</i> fused suspenseful storytelling, high-caliber scientific speculation, and richly developed characters into a stunning science fiction epic. Now the dazzling <i>Supernova</i> heightens the thrills and deepens the haunting exploration of technology and humanity—and the consequences that await when the two intersect.<br /><br />Once <i>Ananke</i> was an experimental military spacecraft. But a rogue computer virus transformed it—<i>her</i>—into something much a fully sentient artificial intelligence, with all the power of a god—and all the unstable emotions of a teenager.<br />  <br /> Althea, the ship’s engineer and the last living human aboard, nearly gave her life to save <i>Ananke</i> from dangerous saboteurs, forging a bond as powerful as that between mother and daughter. Now she devotes herself completely to <i>Ananke</i>’s care. But teaching a thinking, feeling machine—perhaps the most dangerous force in the galaxy—to be human proves a monumental challenge. When <i>Ananke </i>decides to seek out Matthew Gale, the terrorist she regards as her father, Althea learns that some bonds are stronger than mortal minds can understand—or control.<br />  <br /> Drawn back toward Earth by the quest, Althea and <i>Ananke </i>will find themselves in the thick of a violent revolution led by Matthew’s sister, the charismatic leader Constance, who will stop at nothing to bring down a tyrannical surveillance state. As the currents of past decisions and present desires come into stark collision, a new and fiery future is about to be born.]]></book_description>
    <book id="28419812">
      <num_pages>298</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>C.A. Higgins</author_name>
    <isbn>0553394460</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Aug 2024 10:32:21 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 02 Jul 2016 08:36:35 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-published-2016</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28419812-supernova?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Supernova (Lightless, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451615273l/28419812._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: C.A. Higgins<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.59<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/13<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-published-2016<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/836932258?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:32:48 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Blindsight (Firefall, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/836932258?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>48484</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924412l/48484._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>
  <i>Two months since the stars fell...</i>
</b><br /><br />Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous fist, screaming to the heavens as the atmosphere burned them to ash. Two months since that moment of brief, bright surveillance by agents unknown.<br /><br />Two months of silence while a world holds its breath.<br /><br />Now some half-derelict space probe, sparking fitfully past Neptune’s orbit, hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever’s out there isn’t talking to us. It’s talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer, something en route.<br /><br />So who do you send to force introductions on an intelligence with motives unknown, maybe unknowable? Who do you send to meet the alien when the alien doesn’t want to meet?<br /><br />You send a linguist with multiple personalities, her brain surgically partitioned into separate, sentient processing cores. You send a biologist so radically interfaced with machinery that he sees X-rays and tastes ultrasound, so compromised by grafts and splices he no longer feels his own flesh. You send a pacifist warrior in the faint hope she won’t be needed, and a fainter hope she’ll do any good if she is needed. You send a monster to command them all, an extinct hominid predator once called “vampire,” recalled from the grave with the voodoo of recombinant genetics and the blood of sociopaths. And you send a synthesist – an informational topologist with half his mind gone – as an interface between here and there, a conduit through which the Dead Center might hope to understand the Bleeding Edge.<br /><br />You send them all to the edge of interstellar space, praying you can trust such freaks and retrofits with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they’ve been sent to find.<br /><br />But you’d give anything for that to be true, if you only knew what was waiting for them…]]></book_description>
    <book id="48484">
      <num_pages>384</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Peter Watts</author_name>
    <isbn>0765312182</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:32:48 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 28 Jan 2014 01:49:01 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <book_published>2006</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48484.Blindsight?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Blindsight (Firefall, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924412l/48484._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Peter Watts<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.00<br/>
                                      book published: 2006<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/384723815?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:33:41 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Inside Straight (Wild Cards, #18)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/384723815?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>1557943</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435104661l/1557943._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In 1946, an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed ninety percent of those it infected. Nine percent of those who survived mutated into tragically deformed creatures. And one percent gained superpowers. The <i>Wild Cards</i> shared-universe series, created and edited since 1987 by <i>New York Times</i> #1 bestseller George R. R. Martin along with Melinda Snodgrass, is the tale of the history of the world since then--and of the heroes among that one percent.<br /> <br />Originally begun in 1986, long before George R. R. Martin became a household name among fantasy readers ("The American Tolkien" --<i>Time </i>magazine), the <i>Wild Cards</i> series earned a reputation among connoisseurs for its smart reimagining of the superhero idea. Now, with <i>Inside Straight</i>, the Wild Cards continuity jumps forward to a new generation of major characters, entirely accessible to Martin's hundreds of thousands of new readers, with all-original stories by Martin himself, along with Daniel Abraham, Michael Cassutt, and Stephen Leigh, among others.]]></book_description>
    <book id="1557943">
      <num_pages>384</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>George R.R. Martin</author_name>
    <isbn>0765317818</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:33:41 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 05 Aug 2012 13:09:32 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[fantasy, books-first-read-before-goodreads, ebook, science-fiction]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.79</average_rating>
    <book_published>2008</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1557943.Inside_Straight?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Inside Straight (Wild Cards, #18)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435104661l/1557943._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: George R.R. Martin<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.79<br/>
                                      book published: 2008<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: fantasy, books-first-read-before-goodreads, ebook, science-fiction<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1499093568?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 05 Aug 2024 11:50:13 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>All the Birds in the Sky</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1499093568?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25372807</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492189173l/25372807._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[An ancient society of witches and a hipster technological startup go to war in order to prevent the world from tearing itself apart. To further complicate things, each of the groups’ most promising followers (Patricia, a brilliant witch and Laurence, an engineering “wunderkind”) may just be in love with each other.<br /><br />As the battle between magic and science wages in San Francisco against the backdrop of international chaos, Laurence and Patricia are forced to choose sides. But their choices will determine the fate of the planet and all mankind.<br /><br />In a fashion unique to Charlie Jane Anders, <i>All the Birds in the Sky</i> offers a humorous and, at times, heart-breaking exploration of growing up extraordinary in a world filled with cruelty, scientific ingenuity, and magic.]]></book_description>
    <book id="25372807">
      <num_pages>317</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Charlie Jane Anders</author_name>
    <isbn>1466871121</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 05 Aug 2024 11:50:13 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Jan 2016 01:37:33 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-published-2016</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25372807-all-the-birds-in-the-sky?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="All the Birds in the Sky" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492189173l/25372807._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Charlie Jane Anders<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.78<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/05<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-published-2016<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2080328214?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 26 Jul 2024 12:19:00 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Ballad of Black Tom</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2080328214?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>26975675</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446056493l/26975675._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>One of NPR's Best Books of 2016, winner of the Shirley Jackson Award, the British Fantasy Award, the This is Horror Award for Novella of the Year, and a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Bram Stoker Awards</b><br /><br />People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there.<br /><br />Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.<br /><br />A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?]]></book_description>
    <book id="26975675">
      <num_pages>154</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Victor LaValle</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Wed, 2 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 26 Jul 2024 12:19:00 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:51:46 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[kobo-aura, ebook, horror, books-first-read-in-2017, books-published-2016, 2017-hugo-nominee]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[While I'm not a fan of Lovecraft's writing (I found his work way too dry to get through before I ever found out about his various bigotries), I like the creatures/mythos he came up with. Or maybe it would be better to say that I like what other people have done with his work.<br /><br />I can't say that this is one of those works I like.<br /><br />It's a work I love.<br /><br />LaValle pulled me into the story much more than Lovecraft ever did. And, even though I'm not particularly familiar with the Lovecraft canon, I was able to pick up on a number of the little easter eggs sprinkled throughout the story. It wasn't even until the end that I realized The Ballad of Black Tom is based on a specific story.<br /><br />Witnessing Tester's story, the before and after, had me right there along with him, wondering what he was going to do next, wondering what was going to happen to him next. Slowly seeing mentions of the Sleeping King had me wondering how (and how much) he was going to enter the story.<br /><br />Made me excited to look up more work from LaValle, and to eagerly wait for the coming adaptation of this.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.05</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26975675-the-ballad-of-black-tom?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Ballad of Black Tom" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446056493l/26975675._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Victor LaValle<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.05<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2017/08/02<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/07/26<br/>
                                      shelves: kobo-aura, ebook, horror, books-first-read-in-2017, books-published-2016, 2017-hugo-nominee<br/>
                                      review: <br/>While I'm not a fan of Lovecraft's writing (I found his work way too dry to get through before I ever found out about his various bigotries), I like the creatures/mythos he came up with. Or maybe it would be better to say that I like what other people have done with his work.<br /><br />I can't say that this is one of those works I like.<br /><br />It's a work I love.<br /><br />LaValle pulled me into the story much more than Lovecraft ever did. And, even though I'm not particularly familiar with the Lovecraft canon, I was able to pick up on a number of the little easter eggs sprinkled throughout the story. It wasn't even until the end that I realized The Ballad of Black Tom is based on a specific story.<br /><br />Witnessing Tester's story, the before and after, had me right there along with him, wondering what he was going to do next, wondering what was going to happen to him next. Slowly seeing mentions of the Sleeping King had me wondering how (and how much) he was going to enter the story.<br /><br />Made me excited to look up more work from LaValle, and to eagerly wait for the coming adaptation of this.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1416471574?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:13:17 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Forest of Memory</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1416471574?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28236285</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1724314478l/28236285._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Katya deals in Authenticities and Captures, trading on nostalgia for a past long gone. Her clients are rich and they demand items and experiences with only the finest verifiable provenance. Other people’s lives have value, after all.<br /><br />But when her A.I. suddenly stops whispering in her ear she finds herself cut off from the grid and loses communication with the rest of the world.<br /><br />The man who stepped out of the trees while hunting deer cut her off from the cloud, took her A.I. and made her his unwilling guest.<br /><br />There are no Authenticities or Captures to prove Katya’s story of what happened in the forest. You’ll just have to believe her…]]></book_description>
    <book id="28236285">
      <num_pages>92</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Mary Robinette Kowal</author_name>
    <isbn>0765383896</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:13:17 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:34:53 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.65</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28236285-forest-of-memory?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Forest of Memory" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1724314478l/28236285._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Mary Robinette Kowal<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.65<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/07/23<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1004214252?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:38:28 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Parasite (Parasitology, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1004214252?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17621716</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363540935l/17621716._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.<br /><br />We owe our good health to a humble parasite -- a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system -- even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.<br /><br />But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives . . . and will do anything to get them.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17621716">
      <num_pages>408</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Mira Grant</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:38:28 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Jul 2014 20:56:10 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[2014-hugo-nominee, ebook, books-first-read-in-2014, horror, science-fiction, books-published-2013]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Sally Mitchell finds herself in the middle of a growing number of people turning into 'sleepwalkers' and tries to figure out what's going on.<br /><br />The book reminded me, in a way, of Michael Crichton's novels. There's a core science-based idea that the sf/thriller/horror story is based on. Grant pulls it off well, but it doesn't really fit my tastes. The moments when the sleepwalkers were most like zombies were too cliché—zombies in general are too over-done for me to take much interest. Still, the core element of parasites and the possibility of alien intelligence made for interesting story.<br /><br />I also appreciated that Grant doesn't end every chapter on a cliffhanger. Even though there are thriller elements to the novel, that distinction helped the story rise above the common level. There were one or two plot inconsistencies which stuck out to me, though they weren't that severe. [spoilers removed]<br /><br />I am a bit curious about the sequels, but, given my reading list, I don't think it's likely that I'll read them.<br /><br />NOTE: I read this as part of the 2014 Hugo Voter Packet.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.85</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17621716-parasite?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Parasite (Parasitology, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363540935l/17621716._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Mira Grant<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.85<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/07/28<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/06/25<br/>
                                      shelves: 2014-hugo-nominee, ebook, books-first-read-in-2014, horror, science-fiction, books-published-2013<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Sally Mitchell finds herself in the middle of a growing number of people turning into 'sleepwalkers' and tries to figure out what's going on.<br /><br />The book reminded me, in a way, of Michael Crichton's novels. There's a core science-based idea that the sf/thriller/horror story is based on. Grant pulls it off well, but it doesn't really fit my tastes. The moments when the sleepwalkers were most like zombies were too cliché—zombies in general are too over-done for me to take much interest. Still, the core element of parasites and the possibility of alien intelligence made for interesting story.<br /><br />I also appreciated that Grant doesn't end every chapter on a cliffhanger. Even though there are thriller elements to the novel, that distinction helped the story rise above the common level. There were one or two plot inconsistencies which stuck out to me, though they weren't that severe. [spoilers removed]<br /><br />I am a bit curious about the sequels, but, given my reading list, I don't think it's likely that I'll read them.<br /><br />NOTE: I read this as part of the 2014 Hugo Voter Packet.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6451086984?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:57:29 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Haunt Sweet Home</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6451086984?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>203579272</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1710009733l/203579272._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>On the set of a kitschy reality TV show, staged scares transform into unnerving reality in this spooky ghost story from multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker.</b><br /><br /><i>“Don’t talk to day about what we do at night.”</i><br /><br />When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show <i>Haunt Sweet Home</i>, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she's truly been deceiving and hiding from all along—is herself.<br /><br />Eerie and empathetic, <i>Haunt Sweet Home</i> is a multifaceted, supernatural exploration of finding your own way into adulthood, and into yourself.]]></book_description>
    <book id="203579272">
      <num_pages>165</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Sarah Pinsker</author_name>
    <isbn>1250330262</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>3.30</average_rating>
    <book_published>2024</book_published>
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                                      author: Sarah Pinsker<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.30<br/>
                                      book published: 2024<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/04/23<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 16 Apr 2024 06:21:35 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Navigational Entanglements</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6432688686?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>195790820</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Award-winning author Aliette de Bodard presents yet another innovative space opera that broadens the definition of the this time bringing xianxia-style martial arts to the stars.<br /><br />Using the power of Shadows generated from their own bodies’ vitality, Navigators guide space ships safely across the a realm of unreality populated by unfathomable, dangerous creatures called Tanglers. In return for their service, the navigator clans get wealth and power―but they get the blame, too. So when a Tangler escapes the Hollows and goes missing, the empire calls on the jockeying clans to take responsibility and deal with the problem.<br /><br />Việt Nhi is not good with people. Or politics. Which is rather unfortunate because, as a junior apprentice in the Rooster clan, when her elders send her on a joint-clan mission to locate the first escaped Tangler in living memory, she can’t exactly say no.<br /><br />Hạc Cúc of the Snake clan usually likes people. It says so on her “information gathering”―right after “poisoning” and “stabbing.” So she’s pretty sure she’s got the measure of this they’re the screw-ups, the spares; there isn’t a single sharp tool in this shed.<br /><br />But when their imperial envoy is found dead by clan poison, this crew of expendable apprentices will have to learn to work together―fast―before they end up cooling their heels in a jail cell while the invisible Tangler wreaks havoc on a civilian city and the reputation of all four clans.]]></book_description>
    <book id="195790820">
      <num_pages>165</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Aliette de Bodard</author_name>
    <isbn>1250324882</isbn>
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    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>3.58</average_rating>
    <book_published>2024</book_published>
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                                      author: Aliette de Bodard<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.58<br/>
                                      book published: 2024<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/04/16<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 10 Apr 2024 23:59:09 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[My Heart Is a Chainsaw (Indian Lake, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4665936635?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>58438515</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for</b><br /><br />Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies… <i>especially</i> the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood <i>actually</i> starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.<br /><br />Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges… a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body.<br /><br /><i>My Heart Is a Chainsaw</i> is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.]]></book_description>
    <book id="58438515">
      <num_pages>432</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Stephen Graham Jones</author_name>
    <isbn>1982137649</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>3.49</average_rating>
    <book_published>2021</book_published>
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                                      author: Stephen Graham Jones<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.49<br/>
                                      book published: 2021<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/04/10<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 09 Apr 2024 21:56:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Redemption in Indigo</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6416740243?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>200631120</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The enchanting tale of mischief and myth—inspired by West African folklore—that became a fantasy classic, from the award-winning author of The Blue, Beautiful World<br /><br />Paama is a marvelous cook who’s had the bad fortune to marry Ansige. He was the least eligible bachelor in his self-centered, foolish, and food-obsessed. Paama has had enough of this miserable life with her gluttonous husband, and so leaves him to return to her old life with her family.<br /><br />But Paama does not know that this is the beginning of a remarkable adventure. Because the Undying Ones are watching her. These spirits observe the follies of mortal life . . . and sometimes meddle and make mischief.<br /><br />One of these beings presents her with a magical artifact known as the Chaos Stick, which he says is “great for stirring things up.” As Paama gets to know the powers of this marvelous gift, she learns that the Chaos Stick was stolen from a rival spirit, who decides to stir up some trouble of his own.<br /><br />But mastering this magical artifact is only the beginning of Paama’s quest. Although Paama has been granted great power by the Undying Ones, her real journey is to find the magic that lies within herself.]]></book_description>
    <book id="200631120">
      <num_pages>288</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Karen Lord</author_name>
    <isbn>0593724380</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
    <book_published>2010</book_published>
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                                      author: Karen Lord<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.72<br/>
                                      book published: 2010<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/04/09<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 06 Apr 2024 21:14:52 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Navola</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6408408444?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>199927764</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[From the New York Times best-selling author of Wind-Up Girl and The Water Knife comes a sweeping literary fantasy about the young scion from a ruling class family who faces rebellion as he ascends to power.<br /><br />"You must be as sharp as a stilettotore’s dagger and as subtle as a fish beneath the waters. This is what it is to be Navolese, this is what it is to be di Regulai."<br /><br />In Navola, a bustling city-state dominated by a handful of influential families, business is power, and power is everything. For generations, the di Regulai family—merchant bankers with a vast empire—has nurtured tendrils that stretch to the farthest reaches of the known world. And though they claim not to be political, their staggering wealth has bought cities and toppled kingdoms. Soon, Davico di Regulai will be expected to take the reins of power from his father and demonstrate his mastery of the games of Navolese knowing who to trust and who to doubt, and how to read what lies hidden behind a smile. But in Navola, strange and ancient undercurrents lurk behind the gilt and grandeur—like the fossilized dragon eye in the family’s possession, a potent symbol of their raw power and a talisman that seems to be summoning Davico to act.<br /><br />As tensions rise and the events unfold, Davico will be tested to his limits. His fate depends on the eldritch dragon relic and on what lies buried in the heart of his adopted sister, Celia di Balcosi, whose own family was destroyed by Nalova’s twisted politics. With echoes of Renaissance Italy, The Godfather , and Game of Thrones , Navola is a stunning feat of world-building and a mesmerizing depiction of drive and will.]]></book_description>
    <book id="199927764">
      <num_pages>576</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Paolo Bacigalupi</author_name>
    <isbn>0593535057</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>3.82</average_rating>
    <book_published>2024</book_published>
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                                      author: Paolo Bacigalupi<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.82<br/>
                                      book published: 2024<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/04/06<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 12 Mar 2024 22:05:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6339884522?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>195820708</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winner Ann Leckie is a modern master of the SFF genre, forever changing its landscape with her groundbreaking ideas and powerful voice. Now, available for the first time comes the complete collection of Leckie's short fiction, including a brand new novelette,  Lake of Souls.<br /><br />Journey across the stars of the Imperial Radch universe.<br /><br />Listen to the words of the Old Gods that ruled  The Raven Tower.<br /><br />Learn the secrets of the mysterious Lake of Souls.<br /><br />And so much more, in this masterfully wide-ranging and immersive short fiction collection from award-winning author Ann Leckie. ]]></book_description>
    <book id="195820708">
      <num_pages>403</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ann Leckie</author_name>
    <isbn>0316553573</isbn>
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    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>3.94</average_rating>
    <book_published>2024</book_published>
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                                      author: Ann Leckie<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.94<br/>
                                      book published: 2024<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/03/12<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 12 Mar 2024 22:05:33 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Angel of Indian Lake (The Indian Lake Trilogy, #3)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6339884159?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>178019710</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>The final installment in the most lauded trilogy in the history of horror literature</b><br /><br />It’s been four years since Jade Daniels last set foot in Proofrock, Idaho. Since then, her reputation, and everything around Indian Lake, has changed dramatically. There’s a lot of unfinished business in Proofrock, from serial killer cultists to the rich trying to buy Western authenticity. But there’s one aspect of the savage history of Proofrock, Idaho, no one’s got the mettle to confront – no one except a final girl, making her last stand, this time for everything.<br /><br />New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones has crafted an epic horror trilogy of generational trauma and stolen hope. It’s the story of the American West written in blood. And it’s the story of one girl who doesn’t know how to give up.]]></book_description>
    <book id="178019710">
      <num_pages>455</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Stephen Graham Jones</author_name>
    <isbn>1668011662</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
    <book_published>2024</book_published>
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                                      author: Stephen Graham Jones<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.11<br/>
                                      book published: 2024<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/03/12<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6171176750?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:12:39 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Gilded Ones</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6171176750?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>58496710</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677145707l/58496710._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>THE INSTANT <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTELLER! </b><br /><br />"Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy." -<i>Refinery 29 </i><br /><br />"Fans of <i>Children of Blood and Bone, Mulan, </i> and the Dora Milaje from <i>Black Panther</i> are going to adore this one." <b>-</b><i>BuzzFeed<br /></i><br />A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read! <b>-</b>Dhonielle Clayton, <i> New York Times </i>bestselling<i> </i>author of<i> The Belles </i><br /><br />The most anticipated fantasy of 2021. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice. Get ready for battle.<br /><br />Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.<br /><br />But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity-and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.<br /><br />Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki-near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.<br /><br />Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be-not even Deka herself.<br /><br /><b>The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of <i>Children of Blood and Bone</i> and <i>Black Panther</i>. </b>]]></book_description>
    <book id="58496710">
      <num_pages>432</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Namina Forna</author_name>
    <isbn>1984848712</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:12:39 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:12:37 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.09</average_rating>
    <book_published>2020</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58496710-the-gilded-ones?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Gilded Ones" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677145707l/58496710._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Namina Forna<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.09<br/>
                                      book published: 2020<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/01/15<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/485945678?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 22 Nov 2023 22:20:02 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth, 25th Anniversary Edition]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/485945678?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>13594984</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1724004603l/13594984._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[An extraordinary look at our dependence on animals for food, and the profoundly inhumane and unhealthy conditions under which they are currently raised. Well-researched and equally well-written author Robbins sounds the alarm and reveals the astounding physical, emotional and economic price we unknowingly pay. You may never again look at the local supermarket's meat counter the same way after you read this book. A must-read for anyone involved or interested in ecological and political issues.]]></book_description>
    <book id="13594984">
      <num_pages>464</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>John   Robbins</author_name>
    <isbn>193207354X</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 22 Nov 2023 22:20:02 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:27:35 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, giveaway</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.35</average_rating>
    <book_published>1987</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13594984-diet-for-a-new-america?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth, 25th Anniversary Edition" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1724004603l/13594984._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: John   Robbins<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.35<br/>
                                      book published: 1987<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/11/22<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, giveaway<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5861168406?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 Nov 2023 17:36:47 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5861168406?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>16690</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348768309l/16690._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people, a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic who become the movement's leaders, and of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt's inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.]]></book_description>
    <book id="16690">
      <num_pages>288</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Robert A. Heinlein</author_name>
    <isbn>0340837942</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>2</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 2 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 15 Nov 2023 17:36:47 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 22 Sep 2023 23:16:17 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[science-fiction, books-first-read-in-2014, audiobook, classics, library-book]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Manuel--Manny or Man to his friends--befriends a computer and finds himself caught up in the Lunar revolution.<br /><br />I've only read a couple other Heinlein books (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50881.For_Us__the_Living_A_Comedy_of_Customs" title="For Us, the Living A Comedy of Customs by Robert A. Heinlein" rel="nofollow noopener">For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50840.Farnham_s_Freehold" title="Farnham's Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein" rel="nofollow noopener">Farnham's Freehold</a>), and this one just reinforced the fact that his stuff isn't for me. This was one of the most info-dumpy books I've ever read, with Heinlein seeming to have a penchant for describing the technical details of political systems, social structures (especially alternative marriages), revolutions, and physics.<br /><br />There are outdated views on women in this book. The way things are described on the moon, it feels to me like Heinlein thought he was being progressive. Women are outnumbered so much there that they seem to have autonomy and great value. That value is more as a rare commodity than as human beings, however, with their looks and desirability still determining their worth, and with men still willing to kill other men over them.<br /><br />I finished this partly because of a sense of obligation to myself for giving such a respected classic a fair shake and partly because the core story of revolution--what there was of it--kept me interested.<br /><br />I don't think I'll be reading any more Heinlein.<br /><br />ETA: 4.16 average rating! I just don't get it. Also, comparing this novel to his first one, there's a clear improvement in craft.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.16</average_rating>
    <book_published>1966</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16690.The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348768309l/16690._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Robert A. Heinlein<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.16<br/>
                                      book published: 1966<br/>
                                      rating: 2<br/>
                                      read at: 2014/09/02<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/11/15<br/>
                                      shelves: science-fiction, books-first-read-in-2014, audiobook, classics, library-book<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Manuel--Manny or Man to his friends--befriends a computer and finds himself caught up in the Lunar revolution.<br /><br />I've only read a couple other Heinlein books (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50881.For_Us__the_Living_A_Comedy_of_Customs" title="For Us, the Living A Comedy of Customs by Robert A. Heinlein" rel="nofollow noopener">For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50840.Farnham_s_Freehold" title="Farnham's Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein" rel="nofollow noopener">Farnham's Freehold</a>), and this one just reinforced the fact that his stuff isn't for me. This was one of the most info-dumpy books I've ever read, with Heinlein seeming to have a penchant for describing the technical details of political systems, social structures (especially alternative marriages), revolutions, and physics.<br /><br />There are outdated views on women in this book. The way things are described on the moon, it feels to me like Heinlein thought he was being progressive. Women are outnumbered so much there that they seem to have autonomy and great value. That value is more as a rare commodity than as human beings, however, with their looks and desirability still determining their worth, and with men still willing to kill other men over them.<br /><br />I finished this partly because of a sense of obligation to myself for giving such a respected classic a fair shake and partly because the core story of revolution--what there was of it--kept me interested.<br /><br />I don't think I'll be reading any more Heinlein.<br /><br />ETA: 4.16 average rating! I just don't get it. Also, comparing this novel to his first one, there's a clear improvement in craft.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1624570659?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Sep 2023 21:02:17 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1624570659?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17706971</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365399528l/17706971._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>2014 Locus Awards Finalist, Nonfiction Category</b><br /><br />In this hip, accessible primer to the music, literature, and art of Afrofuturism, author Ytasha Womack introduces readers to the burgeoning community of artists creating Afrofuturist works, the innovators from the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, the book’s topics range from the “alien” experience of blacks in America to the “wake up” cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17706971">
      <num_pages>213</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ytasha L. Womack</author_name>
    <isbn>1613747969</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Sep 2023 21:02:17 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 29 Apr 2016 19:46:23 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-published-2014</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.05</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17706971-afrofuturism?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365399528l/17706971._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ytasha L. Womack<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.05<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-published-2014<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5850848554?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 18 Sep 2023 11:43:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Like Thunder (The Desert Magician's Duology #2)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5850848554?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>198224509</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693373010l/198224509._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[This brand-new sequel to Nnedi Okorafor’s Shadow Speaker contains the powerful prose and compelling stories that have made Nnedi Okorafor a star of the literary science fiction and fantasy space and put her at the forefront of Africanfuturist fiction<br /><br />Niger, West Africa, 2077<br /><br />Welcome back. This second volume is a breathtaking story that sweeps across the sands of the Sahara, flies up to the peaks of the Aïr Mountains, cartwheels into a wild megacity—you get the idea.<br /><br />I am the Desert Magician; I bring water where there is none.<br /><br />This book begins with Dikéogu Obidimkpa slowly losing his mind. Yes, that boy who can bring rain just by thinking about it is having some…issues. Years ago, Dikéogu went on an epic journey to save Earth with the shadow speaker girl, Ejii Ubaid, who became his best friend. When it was all over, they went their separate ways, but now he’s learned their quest never really ended at all.<br /><br />So Dikéogu, more powerful than ever, reunites with Ejii. He records this story as an audiofile, hoping it will help him keep his sanity or at least give him something to leave behind. Smart kid, but it won’t work—or will it?<br /><br />I can tell you it won’t be like before. Our rainmaker and shadow speaker have changed. And after this, nothing will ever be the same again.<br /><br />As they say, ‘ Onye amaro ebe nmili si bido mabaya ama ama onye nyelu ya akwa oji welu ficha aru .’<br /><br />Or, ‘If you do not remember where the rain started to beat you, you will not remember who gave you the towel with which to dry your body.’]]></book_description>
    <book id="198224509">
      <num_pages>336</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nnedi Okorafor</author_name>
    <isbn>0756418798</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 18 Sep 2023 11:43:21 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 18 Sep 2023 11:43:20 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.83</average_rating>
    <book_published>2023</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198224509-like-thunder?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Like Thunder (The Desert Magician&#39;s Duology #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693373010l/198224509._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nnedi Okorafor<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.83<br/>
                                      book published: 2023<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/09/18<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1105652150?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 19 Aug 2023 16:36:58 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1105652150?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22778288</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410150407l/22778288._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their "Children's and Household Tales" in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel," "Hansel and Gretel," and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style. For the very first time, " The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" makes available in English all 156 stories from the 1812 and 1815 editions. These narrative gems, newly translated and brought together in one beautiful book, are accompanied by sumptuous new illustrations from award-winning artist Andrea Dezso.<br /><br />From "The Frog King" to "The Golden Key," wondrous worlds unfold--heroes and heroines are rewarded, weaker animals triumph over the strong, and simple bumpkins prove themselves not so simple after all. Esteemed fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes offers accessible translations that retain the spare description and engaging storytelling style of the originals. Indeed, this is what makes the tales from the 1812 and 1815 editions unique--they reflect diverse voices, rooted in oral traditions, that are absent from the Grimms' later, more embellished collections of tales. Zipes's introduction gives important historical context, and the book includes the Grimms' prefaces and notes.<br /><br />A delight to read, "The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" presents these peerless stories to a whole new generation of readers.]]></book_description>
    <book id="22778288">
      <num_pages>568</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Wilhelm Grimm</author_name>
    <isbn>1400851890</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 19 Aug 2023 16:36:58 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:40:59 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.64</average_rating>
    <book_published>1812</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22778288-the-original-folk-and-fairy-tales-of-the-brothers-grimm?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410150407l/22778288._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Wilhelm Grimm<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.64<br/>
                                      book published: 1812<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/08/19<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5755962493?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 09 Aug 2023 12:59:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Changeling</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5755962493?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>35863510</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>One man’s thrilling journey through an enchanted world to find his wife, who has disappeared after seemingly committing an unforgiveable act of violence, from the award-winning author of the <i>The Devil in Silver</i> and <i>Big Machine</i>.</b><br /><br />Apollo Kagwa has had strange dreams that have haunted him since childhood. An antiquarian book dealer with a business called Improbabilia, he is just beginning to settle into his new life as a committed and involved father, unlike his own father who abandoned him, when his wife Emma begins acting strange. Disconnected and uninterested in their new baby boy, Emma at first seems to be exhibiting all the signs of post-partum depression, but it quickly becomes clear that her troubles go far beyond that. Before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act—beyond any parent’s comprehension—and vanishes, seemingly into thin air.<br /><br />Thus begins Apollo’s odyssey through a world he only thought he understood to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His quest begins when he meets a mysterious stranger who claims to have information about Emma’s whereabouts. Apollo then begins a journey that takes him to a forgotten island in the East River of New York City, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest in Queens where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.<br /><br />This dizzying tale is ultimately a story about family and the unfathomable secrets of the people we love.]]></book_description>
    <book id="35863510">
      <num_pages>448</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Victor LaValle</author_name>
    <isbn>0812985877</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 09 Aug 2023 12:59:47 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35863510-the-changeling?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Changeling" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1755005608l/35863510._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Victor LaValle<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.88<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/08/09<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1643460669?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 06 Aug 2023 15:05:08 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Le Ton beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1643460669?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>248193</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Lost in an art—the art of translation. Thus, in an elegant anagram (translation = lost in an art), Pulitzer Prize-winning author and pioneering cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter hints at what led him to pen a deep personal homage to the witty sixteenth-century French poet Clément Marot.”<br /><br /><i>Le ton beau de Marot</i>” literally means ”The sweet tone of Marot”, but to a French ear it suggests ”Le tombeau de Marot”—that is, ”The tomb of Marot”. That double entendre foreshadows the linguistic exuberance of this book, which was sparked a decade ago when Hofstadter, under the spell of an exquisite French miniature by Marot, got hooked on the challenge of recreating both its sweet message and its tight rhymes in English—jumping through two tough hoops at once. In the next few years, he not only did many of his own translations of Marot's poem, but also enlisted friends, students, colleagues, family, noted poets, and translators—even three state-of-the-art translation programs!—to try their hand at this subtle challenge.<br /><br />The rich harvest is represented here by 88 wildly diverse variations on Marot's little theme. Yet this barely scratches the surface of <i>Le Ton beau de Marot</i>, for small groups of these poems alternate with chapters that run all over the map of language and thought.<br /><br />Not merely a set of translations of one poem, <i>Le Ton beau de Marot</i> is an autobiographical essay, a love letter to the French language, a series of musings on life, loss, and death, a sweet bouquet of stirring poetry—but most of all, it celebrates the limitless creativity fired by a passion for the music of words.<br /><br />Dozens of literary themes and creations are woven into the picture, including Pushkin's <i>
  <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27829.Eugene_Onegin" title="Eugene Onegin" rel="nofollow noopener">Eugene Onegin</a>
</i>, Dante's <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15645.Inferno" title="Inferno" rel="nofollow noopener">Inferno</a>,</i> Salinger's <i>
  <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5107.Catcher_in_the_Rye" title="Catcher in the Rye" rel="nofollow noopener">Catcher in the Rye</a>
</i>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55934.Villon_s" title="Villon's" rel="nofollow noopener">Villon's</a> <i>Ballades,</i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5152.Nabokov_s" title="Nabokov’s" rel="nofollow noopener">Nabokov’s</a> essays, Georges Perec's <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3677938.La_Disparition" title="La Disparition" rel="nofollow noopener">La Disparition</a>,</i> Vikram Seth's <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3073568.The_Golden_Gate" title="The Golden Gate" rel="nofollow noopener">The Golden Gate</a>,</i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3341504.Horace_s" title="Horace's" rel="nofollow noopener">Horace's</a> odes, and more.<br /><br />Rife with stunning form-content interplay, crammed with creative linguistic experiments yet always crystal-clear, this book is meant not only for lovers of literature, but also for people who wish to be brought into contact with current ideas about how creativity works, and who wish to see how today’s computational models of language and thought stack up next to the human mind.<br /><br /><i>Le Ton beau de Marot</i> is a sparkling, personal, and poetic exploration aimed at both the literary and the scientific world, and is sure to provoke great excitement and heated controversy among poets and translators, critics and writers, and those involved in the study of creativity and its elusive wellsprings.]]></book_description>
    <book id="248193">
      <num_pages>632</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Douglas R. Hofstadter</author_name>
    <isbn>0465086454</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 06 Aug 2023 15:05:08 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 20 May 2016 01:38:23 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.25</average_rating>
    <book_published>1995</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248193.Le_Ton_beau_de_Marot?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Le Ton beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386921741l/248193._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Douglas R. Hofstadter<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.25<br/>
                                      book published: 1995<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/08/06<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5733646686?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:06:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[A Hero Born (Legends of the Condor Heroes, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5733646686?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>40550033</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668072893l/40550033._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[China: 1200 A.D. The Song Empire has been invaded by its warlike Jurchen neighbours from the north. Half its territory and its historic capital lie in enemy hands; the peasants toil under the burden of the annual tribute demanded by the victors. Meanwhile, on the Mongolian steppe, a disparate nation of great warriors is about to be united by a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan. Guo Jing, son of a murdered Song patriot, grew up with Genghis Khan's army. He is humble, loyal, perhaps not altogether wise, and is fated from birth to one day confront an opponent who is the opposite of him in every way: privileged, cunning and flawlessly trained in the martial arts. Guided by his faithful shifus, The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing must return to China - to the Garden of the Drunken Immortals in Jiaxing - to fulfil his destiny. But in a divided land riven by war and betrayal, his courage and his loyalties will be tested at every turn.]]></book_description>
    <book id="40550033">
      <num_pages>394</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jin Yong</author_name>
    <isbn>1848667922</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:06:21 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:06:19 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
    <book_published>1957</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40550033-a-hero-born?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Hero Born (Legends of the Condor Heroes, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668072893l/40550033._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jin Yong<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.93<br/>
                                      book published: 1957<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/07/31<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5584881201?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 30 May 2023 15:25:05 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Endless Love</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5584881201?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>61008</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400344377l/61008._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[One of the most celebrated novels of its time, <i>Endless Love</i> remains perhaps the most powerful novel ever written about young love. Riveting, compulsively readable, and ferociously sexual, <i>Endless Love</i> tells the story of David Axelrod and his overwhelming love for Jade Butterfield. <br /><br />David's and Jade's lives are consumed with each other; their rapport, their desire, their sexuality take them further than they understand. And when Jade's father suddenly banishes David from the house, he fantasizes the forgiveness his rescue of the family will bring and he sets a "perfectly safe" fire to their house. What unfolds is a nightmare, a dark world in which David's love is a crime and a disease, a world of anonymous phone calls, crazy letters, and new fears—and the inevitable and punishing pursuit of the one thing that remains most real to him: his endless love for Jade and her family.]]></book_description>
    <book id="61008">
      <num_pages>436</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Scott   Spencer</author_name>
    <isbn>0880016280</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 30 May 2023 15:25:05 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 30 May 2023 15:25:03 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.51</average_rating>
    <book_published>1979</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61008.Endless_Love?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Endless Love" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400344377l/61008._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Scott   Spencer<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.51<br/>
                                      book published: 1979<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/05/30<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5577489900?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 27 May 2023 08:49:58 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Always Coming Home</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5577489900?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>60012535</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681794642l/60012535._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Ursula K. Le Guin’s magnificent work of imagination, a visionary, genre-crossing story about a future utopian community on the Northern California coast. A masterly, hypnotic and her most consistently lyric and luminous book. This new edition includes an introduction by Shruti Swamy, author of A House is a Body.</i><br /><br />Midway through her career, Ursula K. Le Guin embarked on one of her most detailed, impressive literary projects, a novel that took more than five years to complete. Blending story and fable, poetry, artwork, and song, Always Coming Home is this legendary writer’s fictional ethnography of the Kesh, a people of the far future living in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley.<br /><br />Having survived ecological catastrophe brought on by relentless industrialization, the Kesh are a peaceful people who reject governance and the constriction of genders, limit population growth to prevent overcrowding and preserve resources, and maintain a healthy community in which everyone works to contribute to its well-being. This richly imagined story unfolds through a series of narrated “translations” that illuminate individual lives, including a woman named Stone Telling, who travels beyond the Valley and comes to reside with another tribe, the patriarchal Condor people.<br /><br />With sharp poignancy, Le Guin explores the complexities of the Kesh’s unified society and presents to us—in exquisite detail—their lives, histories, adventures, customs, language, and art.  In addition to poems and folk tales, Le Guin created verse dramas, records of oral performances, recipes, and even an alphabet and glossary of the Kesh language. The novel is illustrated throughout with drawings by artist Margaret Chodos and includes a musical component—original recordings of Kesh songs that Le Guin collaborated on with composer Todd Barton—bringing this utterly original and compelling world to life.]]></book_description>
    <book id="60012535">
      <num_pages>640</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ursula K. Le Guin</author_name>
    <isbn>0358726921</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 27 May 2023 08:49:58 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 27 May 2023 08:49:57 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.12</average_rating>
    <book_published>1985</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60012535-always-coming-home?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Always Coming Home" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681794642l/60012535._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ursula K. Le Guin<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.12<br/>
                                      book published: 1985<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/05/27<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1636545932?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 16 Apr 2023 13:41:01 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1636545932?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>11122681</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302945641l/11122681._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In print for more than three decades and translated into dozens of languages, here is the audio release of the first book in The Earthsea Trilogy. This is a tale of wizards, dragons, and shadows, played in an archipelago of imagined islands. The young boy Sparrowhawk becomes apprentice to a Master Wizard; but impatience to learn faster takes him far from home to Roke Island, where he enters the School for Wizards. As a student of magic, Sparrowhawk exceeds his years in accomplishment, but pride and jealousy drive the boy to try certain dangerous powers too soon. A terrible evil is let loose in the land.]]></book_description>
    <book id="11122681">
      <num_pages>7</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ursula K. Le Guin</author_name>
    <isbn>1607470462</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 31 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 16 Apr 2023 13:41:01 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 12 May 2016 18:48:45 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, books-reread-in-2016, books-first-read-in-2016, audiobook, fantasy]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I read this book a while back. Not as a kid, but shortly after high-school when I was discovering Le Guin. As often happens, my memories of a book read that long ago were almost non-existent.<br /><br />This time through, I thought I'd check out the audio version. I hadn't checked the narrator beforehand, so smiled wide when I recognized the voice of Le Guin herself. Not long in, a magic word is spoken and Le Guin's voice was replaced by another. Turns out I recognized that one, too. Harlan Ellison read the bulk of the book. Good thing he's a good performer. Amateur, but his long practice at telling stories from a convention stage seems to lend to narration skill.<br /><br />As much as I liked it, I don't really have that much to say about the story itself. At least, I'd only be repeating the generic stuff that many have already said about the story. I guess I don't think about stories the same way when I listen to them as when I read them.<br /><br />It's interesting that AWoE is much shorter than more recent similar books. And, in its shorter length covers many more types of stories. Rather than focusing on Ged's journey to school, or his time at school, or his developing into a magician and battling his enemy, it takes the whole thing together as a whole. I'm eager to see where the rest of the series goes.]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
    <book_published>1968</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11122681-a-wizard-of-earthsea?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302945641l/11122681._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ursula K. Le Guin<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.75<br/>
                                      book published: 1968<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/05/31<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/04/16<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, books-reread-in-2016, books-first-read-in-2016, audiobook, fantasy<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I read this book a while back. Not as a kid, but shortly after high-school when I was discovering Le Guin. As often happens, my memories of a book read that long ago were almost non-existent.<br /><br />This time through, I thought I'd check out the audio version. I hadn't checked the narrator beforehand, so smiled wide when I recognized the voice of Le Guin herself. Not long in, a magic word is spoken and Le Guin's voice was replaced by another. Turns out I recognized that one, too. Harlan Ellison read the bulk of the book. Good thing he's a good performer. Amateur, but his long practice at telling stories from a convention stage seems to lend to narration skill.<br /><br />As much as I liked it, I don't really have that much to say about the story itself. At least, I'd only be repeating the generic stuff that many have already said about the story. I guess I don't think about stories the same way when I listen to them as when I read them.<br /><br />It's interesting that AWoE is much shorter than more recent similar books. And, in its shorter length covers many more types of stories. Rather than focusing on Ged's journey to school, or his time at school, or his developing into a magician and battling his enemy, it takes the whole thing together as a whole. I'm eager to see where the rest of the series goes.<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5443415316?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:44 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Stars Do Not Lie</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5443415316?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>19305847</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399661308l/19305847._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Jay Lake’s critically acclaimed novella takes a new look at a classic theme.<br /><br />A world strictly governed by religious dogma is challenged by a scientist who has discovered a key piece of information challenging long-held beliefs.<br /><br />An intricately created alternate world provides a fascinating backdrop and a new twist to this classic dilemma.]]></book_description>
    <book id="19305847">
      <num_pages>48</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jay Lake</author_name>
    <isbn>1612421512</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 4 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:44 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:44 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[science-fiction, religious, stories-first-read-in-2013, ebook]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>2.95</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19305847-the-stars-do-not-lie?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Stars Do Not Lie" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399661308l/19305847._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jay Lake<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 2.95<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2013/07/04<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/03/27<br/>
                                      shelves: science-fiction, religious, stories-first-read-in-2013, ebook<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2661938970?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 26 Mar 2023 22:59:32 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>An Unkindness of Ghosts</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2661938970?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>41753914</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679896575l/41753914._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA["The <em>HSS Matilda</em> is a generation ship organized much like the antebellum South. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer and sowing the seeds of civil war, sharecropper Aster learns there may be a way off the ship if she's willing to fight for it."<br />--<b><i>Publishers Weekly;</i> included in Fall 2017 Adult Announcements, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror</b><p>"Immediately immersive and sophisticated...This is a phenomenal piece of work."<br />--<b>Lee Child</b>, author of the Jack Reacher series</p><p>"<i>An Unkindness of Ghosts</i> marks the debut of a wildly talented writer. Rivers Solomon has put together a heady science-fiction novel that speaks directly to some of the most pressing political and social concerns of the modern day. And yet for all that it remains deeply humane, and it's even quite funny at times. This is a book you'll want to read now so you can tell your friends you read it first."<br />--<b>Victor LaValle</b>, author of <i>The Changeling</i></p><p>"Welcome to the Tarlands aboard the space vessel HSS <i>Matilda</i>--home of the poor and rejected--and the setting of Rivers Solomon’s powerful debut novel. Imaginative in the vein of Colson Whitehead, Samuel R. Delany, and Octavia E. Butler, this novel explores the struggles of slum dwellers aboard a spacecraft sadly reminiscent of our own world: rife with poverty, caste, and discrimination as told through the Looking Glass. With outstanding world-building and an unforgettable protagonist in Aster, <i>An Unkindness of Ghosts</i> is a notable debut by an author whose work I look forward to reading for years to come.”<br />--<b>Tananarive Due</b>, author of <i>The Living Blood</i> and <i>Ghost Summer</i></p><p>Odd-mannered, obsessive, withdrawn, Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, as they accuse, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remained of her world, save for stories told around the cookfire.</p><p>Aster lives in the low-deck slums of the HSS <i>Matilda</i>, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, the <i>Matilda</i> has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship's leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster, who they consider to be less than human.</p><p>When the autopsy of <i>Matilda</i>'s sovereign reveals a surprising link between his death and her mother's suicide some quarter-century before, Aster retraces her mother's footsteps. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer and sewing the seeds of civil war, Aster learns there may be a way off the ship if she's willing to fight for it.</p><p><i>An Unkindness of Ghosts</i> will appeal to a broad audience, including fans of books such as <i>The Magicians</i> by Lev Grossman, <i>The Night Circus</i> by Erin Morgenstern, <i>Cold Magic</i> by Kate Elliott, <i>The Golden Compass</i> by Philip Pullman, <i>The Intuitionist</i> by Colson Whitehead, and <i>Station Eleven</i> by Emily St. John Mandel.</p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="41753914">
      <num_pages>12</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Rivers Solomon</author_name>
    <isbn>1538475030</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Mon, 1 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 26 Mar 2023 22:59:32 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 06 Jan 2019 19:17:28 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[library-book, audiobook, science-fiction, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2017]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.79</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41753914-an-unkindness-of-ghosts?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="An Unkindness of Ghosts" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679896575l/41753914._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Rivers Solomon<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.79<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/10/01<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/03/26<br/>
                                      shelves: library-book, audiobook, science-fiction, books-first-read-in-2018, books-published-2017<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5246118753?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:02:39 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>Snow Crash</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5246118753?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>61240297</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656932283l/61240297._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. <i>Snow Crash</i> is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous… you'll recognize it immediately.]]></book_description>
    <book id="61240297">
      <num_pages>576</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Neal Stephenson</author_name>
    <isbn>059359973X</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:02:39 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:02:39 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.90</average_rating>
    <book_published>1992</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61240297-snow-crash?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Snow Crash" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656932283l/61240297._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Neal Stephenson<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.90<br/>
                                      book published: 1992<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/08<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5246115899?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:01:48 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5246115899?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>52880778</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560746779l/52880778._SX50_SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The Earth is dying.<br /><br />Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it.<br />The Reds are humanity's last hope.<br /><br />Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie.<br /><br />That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds.<br /><br />A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.<br /><br />But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.<br /><br />Break the chains.<br /><br />Live for more.<br /><br /><i>This edition contains a preview of Golden Son, Book II of the Red Rising trilogy.</i>]]></book_description>
    <book id="52880778">
      <num_pages>382</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Pierce Brown</author_name>
    <isbn>034553980X</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:01:48 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:01:47 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.21</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52880778-red-rising?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560746779l/52880778._SX50_SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Pierce Brown<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.21<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/08<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5234123161?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:07:19 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Battlestations! (Star Trek, #31)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5234123161?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>10011771</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392005152l/10011771._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Battlestations!</b> <br /> Back on Earth enjoying a well-deserved shore leave, Captain Kirk is rudely accosted by a trio of Starfleet security guards. It seems he is wanted for questioning in connection with the theft of transwarp -- the Federation's newest, most advanced propulsion system. Could Captain Kirk, Starfleet's most decorated hero, be guilty of stealing top-secret technology? With the aid of Mr. Spock, Lt. Comdr. Piper begins a desperate search for the scientists who developed transwarp -- a search that leads her to an isolated planet, where she discovers the real -- and very dangerous -- traitor!]]></book_description>
    <book id="10011771">
      <num_pages>288</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Diane Carey</author_name>
    <isbn>0743419820</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 5 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:07:19 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 10:53:48 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[ebook, kobo-aura-one, science-fiction, books-published-1986, books-first-read-in-2023]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[Fun and average with a gripping-enough climax]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.50</average_rating>
    <book_published>1986</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10011771-battlestations?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Battlestations! (Star Trek, #31)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392005152l/10011771._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Diane Carey<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.50<br/>
                                      book published: 1986<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: 2023/01/05<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/05<br/>
                                      shelves: ebook, kobo-aura-one, science-fiction, books-published-1986, books-first-read-in-2023<br/>
                                      review: <br/>Fun and average with a gripping-enough climax<br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5053386484?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:42 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Light of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5053386484?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>51637946</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582619576l/51637946._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Long before the First Order, before the Empire, before the Clone Wars...Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in the High Republic.</b><br /><br />It is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the farthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm. But even the brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.<br /><br />When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene. The scope of the emergence, however, is enough to push even Jedi to their limit. As the sky breaks open and destruction rains down upon the peaceful alliance they helped to build, the Jedi must trust in the Force to see them through a day in which a single mistake could cost billions of lives.<br /><br />Even as the Jedi battle valiantly against calamity, something truly deadly grows beyond the boundary of the Republic. The hyperspace disaster is far more sinister than the Jedi could ever suspect. A threat hides in the darkness, far from the light of the age, and harbors a secret that could strike fear into even a Jedi's heart.]]></book_description>
    <book id="51637946">
      <num_pages>380</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Charles Soule</author_name>
    <isbn>0593157710</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:42 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 18 Oct 2022 11:57:42 -0700]]></user_date_created>
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    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.90</average_rating>
    <book_published>2021</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51637946-light-of-the-jedi?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Light of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582619576l/51637946._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Charles Soule<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.90<br/>
                                      book published: 2021<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/11/22<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/05<br/>
                                      shelves: <br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120461604?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:31 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Villains]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120461604?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>44777456</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[This is the Age of <i>Star Wars</i> - an epic series of adventures that unites your favorite characters from all three trilogies! Now it's the First Order's turn to take center stage. As Captain Phasma leads an attack on the iron planet Demir, a young Stormtrooper looks to follow in Phasma's footsteps. But will she have the heart to follow the merciless ways of the First Order captain? General Hux has always been looked down upon, but when a sabotaged shuttle crash-lands on an unknown planet it will be up to Hux to save Kylo Ren! Plus: Tales of Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke!<br /><br /><b>COLLECTING: </b><i>STAR WARS</i>: AGE OF RESISTANCE - CAPTAIN PHASMA 1, <i>STAR WARS</i>: AGE OF RESISTANCE - GENERAL HUX 1, <i>STAR WARS</i>: AGE OF RESISTANCE - KYLO REN 1, <i>STAR WARS</i>: AGE OF RESISTANCE - SUPREME LEADER SNOKE 1]]></book_description>
    <book id="44777456">
      <num_pages>128</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Tom    Taylor</author_name>
    <isbn>1302917307</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:31 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:26:04 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2019, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, short-stories, treebooks, anthology-collection-magazine]]></user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>3.77</average_rating>
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      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44777456-star-wars?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Villains" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575203455l/44777456._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Tom    Taylor<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.77<br/>
                                      book published: <br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/11/22<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/05<br/>
                                      shelves: comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2019, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, short-stories, treebooks, anthology-collection-magazine<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120466562?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:19 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120466562?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>56755948</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A new era of Star Wars storytelling begins! Journey back to the High Republic — the golden age of the Jedi! Centuries before the Empire and the Skywalker saga, the Jedi are at their height, protecting the galaxy as Republic pioneers push out into new territories. But as the frontier prepares for the dedication of the majestic Starlight Beacon, Padawan Keeve Trennis faces the ultimate choice — will she complete her Jedi trials, or rescue the innocent from disaster? And can she trust her closest ally? Enter a rich and vast world of new Jedi! New worlds! New ships! And new evils to fight — including the terrifying Nihil!<br /><br />COLLECTING: Star Wars: The High Republic (2021) 1-5]]></book_description>
    <book id="56755948">
      <num_pages>120</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Cavan Scott</author_name>
    <isbn>1302927531</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:19 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:29:06 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2021, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, treebooks]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.82</average_rating>
    <book_published>2021</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56755948-star-wars?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629992130l/56755948._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Cavan Scott<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.82<br/>
                                      book published: 2021<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/11/22<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/05<br/>
                                      shelves: comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2021, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, treebooks<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120470266?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:05 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 2: The Heart of Drengir]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120470266?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>57796308</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639326832l/57796308._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[As the galaxy prepares to celebrate the Republic Fair on Valo, a fierce battle rages in the depths of Wild Space — and the Jedi of Starlight Beacon must join forces with their most feared enemy to face the terror of the unstoppable Drengir horde! And as Avar Kriss and her new allies fight nightmarish creatures on a harsh lava world, young Jedi Keeve Trennis puts everything on the line to save her former master from the darkness — but the scars run deep… Meanwhile, who — or what — is the Great Progenitor? And will the Jedi find that other forces are at work on the Drengir’s deathworld? Guest-starring Cohmac Vitus, Reath Silas and Orla Jareni, Jedi Wayseeker, from the blockbuster novel <i>Star Wars: The High Republic — Into the Dark</i>!<br /><br />COLLECTING: Star Wars: High Republic (2021) 6-10]]></book_description>
    <book id="57796308">
      <num_pages>111</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Cavan Scott</author_name>
    <isbn>1302931423</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:01:05 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:31:18 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2021, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, treebooks]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.83</average_rating>
    <book_published>2021</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57796308-star-wars?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 2: The Heart of Drengir" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639326832l/57796308._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Cavan Scott<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.83<br/>
                                      book published: 2021<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: 2022/11/22<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/01/05<br/>
                                      shelves: comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2021, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, treebooks<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5171102978?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Dec 2022 12:44:00 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Akata Woman (The Nsibidi Scripts)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5171102978?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>61285585</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656311393l/61285585._SX50_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Akata Woman is the New York Times bestselling third book in the series that started with Akata Witch , named one of Time magazine's "100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time" and "100 Best YA Books of All Time," from award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor.<br /><br />"In this series, Okorafor creates a stunningly original world of African magic that draws on Nigerian folk beliefs and rituals instead of relying on the predictable tropes of Western fantasy novels."<br />—Time magazine<br /><br />From the moment Sunny Nwazue discovered she had mystical energy flowing in her blood, she sought to understand and control her powers. Throughout her adventures in Akata Witch and Akata Warrior , she had to navigate the balance between nearly everything in her life—America and Nigeria, the "normal" world and the one infused with juju, human and spirit, good daughter and powerful Leopard Person.<br /><br />Now, those hard lessons and abilities are put to the test in a quest so dangerous and fantastical, it would be madness to go . . . but it may destroy the world if she does not. With the help of her friends, Sunny embarks on a mission to find a precious object hidden deep in an otherworldly realm. Defeating the guardians of the prize will take more from Sunny than she has to give, and triumph will mean she will be forever changed.]]></book_description>
    <book id="61285585">
      <num_pages>416</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nnedi Okorafor</author_name>
    <isbn>0451480597</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Dec 2022 12:44:00 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Dec 2022 12:43:59 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.21</average_rating>
    <book_published>2022</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61285585-akata-woman?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Akata Woman (The Nsibidi Scripts)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656311393l/61285585._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nnedi Okorafor<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.21<br/>
                                      book published: 2022<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/12/17<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5158458179?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Dec 2022 13:36:23 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>Crow Winter</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5158458179?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>43883909</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558915612l/43883909._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Nanabush. A name that has a certain weight on the tongue—a taste. Like lit sage in a windowless room or aluminum foil on a metal filling.<br /><br />Trickster. Storyteller. Shape-shifter. An ancient troublemaker with the power to do great things, only he doesn’t want to put in the work.</i><br /><br />Since coming home to Spirit Bear Point First Nation, Hazel Ellis has been dreaming of an old crow. He tells her he’s here to help her, save her. From what, exactly? Sure, her dad’s been dead for almost two years and she hasn’t quite reconciled that grief, but is that worth the time of an Algonquin demigod?<br /><br />Soon Hazel learns that there’s more at play than just her own sadness and doubt. The quarry that’s been lying unsullied for over a century on her father’s property is stirring the old magic that crosses the boundaries between this world and the next. With the aid of Nanabush, Hazel must unravel a web of deceit that, if left untouched, could destroy her family and her home on both sides of the Medicine Wheel.]]></book_description>
    <book id="43883909">
      <num_pages>352</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Karen McBride</author_name>
    <isbn>1443459682</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Dec 2022 13:36:23 -0800]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43883909-crow-winter?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Crow Winter" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558915612l/43883909._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Karen McBride<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.76<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/12/11<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5158457944?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Dec 2022 13:36:17 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Adventures of Star Song: "Who Am I?" Vol.1]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5158457944?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>59793237</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639229617l/59793237._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[About the Book Star Song is an eight-year old bi-racial African and Native American, whose parents are imprisoned in a faraway land. Without family members to care for her, Star Song is left in an all- girls' orphanage. At school, Star Song runs into problems because of her beliefs and culture. Through all of Star Song's suffering, no one can seem to help her until she receives guidance from an ancestor Ashanti African chief and a Native American medicine woman. Star Song angels grant her the languages of Swahili and Lakota. They also give her the ability to know things that others don't know and the power to heal. With the benefit of her angels, Star Song triumphs over the problems she faces and is seen as a hero. The Adventures of Star Song "Who I AM?" is a wonderful story about courage and self-acceptance.]]></book_description>
    <book id="59793237">
      <num_pages>96</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Yonasda Lonewolf</author_name>
    <isbn>1365746984</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
    <book_published></book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Yonasda Lonewolf<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 0.0<br/>
                                      book published: <br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/12/11<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120472330?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:32:30 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>Star Wars: Allegiance</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120472330?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>45485630</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[BEFORE THE EXCITING EVENTS OF STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER! Hounded by the FIRST ORDER across the galaxy, the RESISTANCE is in dire need of ships, weapons and recruits to make a final stand against KYLO REN'S forces. Desperation drives a delegation led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA and REY to entreat the Rebel veteran's one-time allies, THE MON CALAMARI, to join the fight - but decades after Imperial occupation enslaved their planet, there are those willing to stop at nothing to prevent another war from bloodying the waters of Mon Cala. A system away, POE DAMERON and FINN have their own mission: to hunt down a weapons cache on the remote moon of Avedot, unaware that they are being hunted by the most notorious criminal gang in the galaxy!<br /><br /><b>Collecting:</b> JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - ALLEGIANCE #1-#4]]></book_description>
    <book id="45485630">
      <num_pages>112</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ethan Sacks</author_name>
    <isbn>1302919245</isbn>
    <user_name>Ben</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:32:30 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:32:29 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[currently-reading, comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2019, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, treebooks]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.28</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45485630-star-wars?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Star Wars: Allegiance" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574746070l/45485630._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ethan Sacks<br/>
                                      name: Ben<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.28<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/11/22<br/>
                                      shelves: currently-reading, comics, comics-first-read-2022, comics-published-2019, library-book, mainstream, science-fiction, treebooks<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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