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    <title>Mir's bookshelf: all</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Mir's bookshelf: all]]></description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:56 -0700</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>
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      <title>Mir's bookshelf: all</title>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8670872197?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:56 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>3001: The Final Odyssey</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8670872197?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>63432</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The mysteries of the monoliths are revealed in this inspired conclusion to the Hugo Award–winning Space Odyssey series—“there are marvels aplenty” (The New York Times).<br /> <br />On an ill-fated mission to Jupiter in 2001, the mutinous supercomputer HAL sent crewmembers David Bowman and Frank Poole into the frozen void of space. Bowman’s strange transformation into a Star Child is traced through the novels 2010 and 2061. But now, a thousand years after his death, Frank Poole is brought back to life—and thrust into a world far more technically advanced than the one he left behind.<br /> <br />Poole discovers a world of human minds interfacing directly with computers, genetically engineered dinosaur servants, and massive space elevators built around the equator. He also discovers an impending threat to humanity lurking within the enigmatic monoliths. To fight it, Poole must join forces with Bowman and HAL, now fused into one corporeal consciousness—and the only being with the power to thwart the monoliths’ mysterious creators.<br /> <br />“3001 is not just a page-turner, plugged in to the great icons of HAL and the monoliths, but a book of wisdom too, pithy and provocative.” —New Scientist]]></book_description>
    <book id="63432">
      <num_pages>272</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Arthur C. Clarke</author_name>
    <isbn>0345438205</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:56 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:56 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>si-fi</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.58</average_rating>
    <book_published>1999</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63432.3001?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="3001: The Final Odyssey" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388271918l/63432._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Arthur C. Clarke<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.58<br/>
                                      book published: 1999<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2026/06/08<br/>
                                      shelves: si-fi<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3942180478?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 23 Jan 2026 05:27:08 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title>Memory</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3942180478?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>27167695</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[This best-selling textbook presents a comprehensive and accessible overview of the study of memory. Written by three of the world s leading researchers in the field, it contains everything the student needs to know about the scientific approach to memory and its applications.<br /><br />Each chapter of the book is written by one of the three authors, an approach which takes full advantage of their individual expertise and style, creating a more personal and accessible text. This enhances students enjoyment of the book, allowing them to share the authors own fascination with human memory. The book also draws on a wealth of real-world examples throughout, showing students exactly how they can relate science to their everyday experiences of memory.<br /><br />Key features of this edition:<br /><br /><br /><br />Thoroughly revised throughout to include the latest research and updated coverage of key ideas and models<br /><br />A brand new chapter on Memory and the Brain, designed to give students a solid understanding of methods being used to study the relationship between memory and the brain, as well as the neurobiological basis of memory<br /><br />Additional pedagogical features to help students engage with the material, including many try this demonstrations, points for discussion, and bullet-pointed chapter summaries<br /><br />The book is supported by a companion website featuring extensive online resources for students and lecturers.<br /><br />"]]></book_description>
    <book id="27167695">
      <num_pages>532</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Alan Baddeley</author_name>
    <isbn>1317610423</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 23 Jan 2026 05:27:08 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Apr 2021 06:48:37 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, psychology</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
    <book_published>1982</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27167695-memory?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Memory" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572264441l/27167695._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Alan Baddeley<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 0.0<br/>
                                      book published: 1982<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2026/01/23<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, psychology<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7858833392?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:23:55 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7858833392?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>15824358</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Since its original release, <i>The First 90 Days</i> has become the bestselling globally acknowledged bible of leadership and career transitions. In this updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition, internationally known leadership transition expert Michael D. Watkins gives you the keys to successfully negotiating your next move—whether you’re onboarding into a new company, being promoted internally, or embarking on an international assignment.<br /><br />In <i>The First 90 Days</i>, Watkins outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what he calls the "breakeven point" when your organization needs <i>you</i> as much as you need the job. This new edition includes a substantial new preface by the author on the new definition of a career as a series of transitions; and notes the growing need for effective and repeatable skills for moving through these changes. As well, updated statistics and new tools make this book more reader-friendly and useful than ever.<br /><br />As hundreds of thousands of readers already know, <i>The First 90 Days</i> is a road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during critical career transition periods—whether you are a first-time manager, a mid-career professional on your way up, or a newly minted CEO.]]></book_description>
    <book id="15824358">
      <num_pages>304</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Michael D. Watkins</author_name>
    <isbn>1422188612</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:23:55 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:23:55 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.83</average_rating>
    <book_published>2003</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824358-the-first-90-days?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1354903827l/15824358._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Michael D. Watkins<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.83<br/>
                                      book published: 2003<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7858831210?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:23:09 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Personal Finance for Dummies</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7858831210?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>3604</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Personal Finance for Dummies</i> offers sound and practical advice for those who want to get control over their personal financial lives. Author Eric Tyson points out the most common mistakes that we all make in our approach to money and prescribes ways to save and invest for a secure future. Using worksheets, the book helps you to measure your own financial health by looking at factors such as how much debt you carry, your savings rate, as well as investment and insurance checkups. The book looks at how you should invest your retirement account, approach taxes, and provides a good overview on how to buy real estate.]]></book_description>
    <book id="3604">
      <num_pages>480</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Eric Tyson</author_name>
    <isbn>0764525905</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:23:09 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:23:09 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
    <book_published>1994</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3604.Personal_Finance_for_Dummies?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Personal Finance for Dummies" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386921248l/3604._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Eric Tyson<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.78<br/>
                                      book published: 1994<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7858813547?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:16:41 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Your Money or Your Life - Abridged]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7858813547?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>6437363</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Now more than ever given today's uncertain economic climate a transformed relationship with money is the key to a healthy and happy life. Vicki Robin offers Your Money or Your Life, an original audio adaptation of the New York Times bestselling book that has helped more than 600,000 people worldwide gain greater financial freedom. Join this acclaimed author for hands-on tools and insights that will help you reach new levels of comfort, competence, and consciousness around your personal finances. Building on the recent updates and revisions to the book Your Money or Your Life (Penguin, 2008), this two-CD program reflects the major social, technological, and environmental changes since its first publication in 1992 plus wisdom from 15 years of readers lived experiences including: --How to develop your financial intelligence, integrity, and independence--the three keys to lasting fulfillment. --A million-and-one sure ways to save money how controlling your spending starts with controlling your thoughts. --How to manage your money so that you have a life you love with the money you have. Whether you're trying to plan for your future, recover from poor choices in the past, or manage your finances better, Your Money or Your Lifeprovides proven tools and powerful teachings to help you get there no matter what financial storm blows your way.]]></book_description>
    <book id="6437363">
      <num_pages>2</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Vicki Robin</author_name>
    <isbn>1591797306</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:16:41 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:16:40 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
    <book_published></book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6437363-your-money-or-your-life---abridged?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Your Money or Your Life - Abridged" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348664307l/6437363._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Vicki Robin<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.78<br/>
                                      book published: <br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7829641073?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 14 Aug 2025 13:58:24 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Time Management</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7829641073?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>4546112</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[One of the best talks ever given on time management. In this lecture you will learn to:<br /><br />-Clarify your goals and achieve them<br /><br />-Handle people and projects that waste your time<br /><br />-Be involved in better delegation<br /><br />-Work more efficiently with your boss/advisor<br /><br />-Learn specific skills and tools to save you time<br /><br />-Overcome stress and procrastination<br /><br />This is the "Time Management" lecture, given by Randy Pausch at the University of Virginia in October 1998.]]></book_description>
    <book id="4546112">
      <num_pages>84</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Randy Pausch</author_name>
    <isbn>0982055633</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 14 Aug 2025 13:58:24 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 14 Aug 2025 13:58:23 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
    <book_published>2008</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4546112-time-management?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Time Management" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1256121302l/4546112._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Randy Pausch<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.07<br/>
                                      book published: 2008<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3938229511?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 13 Aug 2025 23:04:09 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Last Lecture</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3938229511?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>40611510</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A lot of professors give talks titled 'The Last Lecture'. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?<br /><br />When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave, 'Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams', wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.<br /><br />In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humour, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.]]></book_description>
    <book id="40611510">
      <num_pages>217</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Randy Pausch</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 13 Aug 2025 23:04:09 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Apr 2021 07:26:20 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[*Few words about The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch*<br /><br />What is the purpose of life? What is success?According to our culture, people, and career-measurement perspectives, it’s mostly about having a high-paying job, wearing a suited-and-booted attire, driving a nice car, and owning a big house where you invite people and serve lavish food!<br /><br />But well, that’s indeed a part of success, mostly the material side. This book shows me that success can be much more than that. It’s about fulfilment, about having a purpose for how to do great things with the life given by God. It’s about having the discipline to lead yourself, and then to guide others with the wisdom you’ve earned. It’s not about competition, well, that part you may argue, but ultimately it’s about doing great things to lift our surroundings, our society, and inspire others to do the same. By doing so, we can attract both material success and life fulfilment, just like Randy tried to do with his life: sharing his wisdom with his students, colleagues, and through his Last Lecture (both book and video) with a broader audience… perhaps even with me.<br /><br />As an international student coming from a lower-middle-class family, facing life’s struggles and lessons, I am grateful to the Almighty that I am here in a first-world country, still moving forward, maybe slowly, but never standing still. This book made me think about education, career, and the broader prospect of life. Isn’t life about growing and letting others grow along the way?<br /><br />Even as a top-of-the-class computer scientist, a Professor at Carnegie Mellon, Randy was always optimistic, solving problems all along, a person who always find ways! That’s just how a person should be, with acts of kindness, with persistence, and with wisdom. Having even a small share of this amazing personality would be a blessing. Wish personalities like Randy keep coming and leaving their legacies full of inspiration and wisdom for generations to come.<br /><br />One of the greatest books I’ve read this year, and I feel happy sharing about it so others can have the same insight and wisdom!<br /><br />PS: Randy died from pancreatic cancer on July 2008, at the age of 47, leaving his memories, experiences and wisdom. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
    <book_published>2008</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40611510-the-last-lecture?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Last Lecture" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529682044l/40611510._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Randy Pausch<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.30<br/>
                                      book published: 2008<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/13<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/>*Few words about The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch*<br /><br />What is the purpose of life? What is success?According to our culture, people, and career-measurement perspectives, it’s mostly about having a high-paying job, wearing a suited-and-booted attire, driving a nice car, and owning a big house where you invite people and serve lavish food!<br /><br />But well, that’s indeed a part of success, mostly the material side. This book shows me that success can be much more than that. It’s about fulfilment, about having a purpose for how to do great things with the life given by God. It’s about having the discipline to lead yourself, and then to guide others with the wisdom you’ve earned. It’s not about competition, well, that part you may argue, but ultimately it’s about doing great things to lift our surroundings, our society, and inspire others to do the same. By doing so, we can attract both material success and life fulfilment, just like Randy tried to do with his life: sharing his wisdom with his students, colleagues, and through his Last Lecture (both book and video) with a broader audience… perhaps even with me.<br /><br />As an international student coming from a lower-middle-class family, facing life’s struggles and lessons, I am grateful to the Almighty that I am here in a first-world country, still moving forward, maybe slowly, but never standing still. This book made me think about education, career, and the broader prospect of life. Isn’t life about growing and letting others grow along the way?<br /><br />Even as a top-of-the-class computer scientist, a Professor at Carnegie Mellon, Randy was always optimistic, solving problems all along, a person who always find ways! That’s just how a person should be, with acts of kindness, with persistence, and with wisdom. Having even a small share of this amazing personality would be a blessing. Wish personalities like Randy keep coming and leaving their legacies full of inspiration and wisdom for generations to come.<br /><br />One of the greatest books I’ve read this year, and I feel happy sharing about it so others can have the same insight and wisdom!<br /><br />PS: Randy died from pancreatic cancer on July 2008, at the age of 47, leaving his memories, experiences and wisdom. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7810467902?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:19:29 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7810467902?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>8112865</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[You don’t need to have been born under a lucky star, or with incredible wealth, or with terrific contacts and connections, or even special skills...but what you do need to succeed in any of your life goals is self-discipline. Unfortunately, most people give in to the two worst enemies of success: they take the path of least resistance (in other words, they’re lazy) and/or they want immediate gratification: they don’t consider the long-term consequences of the actions they take today.<i>No Excuses!</i> shows you how you can achieve success in all three major areas of your life:<br /><br />1. Your personal goals.<br />2. Your business and money goals.<br />3. Your overall happiness.<br /><br />Each of the 21 chapters in this book shows you how to be more disciplined in one aspect of your life, with end-of-chapter exercises to help you apply the “no excuses” approach to your own life. With these guidelines, you can learn how to be more successful in everything you do—instead of wistfully envying others who you think are just “luckier” than you. A little self-discipline goes a long way...so stop making excuses and read this book!]]></book_description>
    <book id="8112865">
      <num_pages>304</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Brian Tracy</author_name>
    <isbn>1593155824</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:19:29 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
    <book_published>2010</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8112865-no-excuses?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328753350l/8112865._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Brian Tracy<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.02<br/>
                                      book published: 2010<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7810464827?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:17:56 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7810464827?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>60018575</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<strong>In his New York Times bestselling book Courage is Calling, author Ryan Holiday made the Stoic case for a bold and brave life. In this much-anticipated second book of his Stoic Virtue series, Holiday celebrates the awesome power of self-discipline and those who have seized it.</strong><br /><br />To master anything, one must first master themselves–one’s emotions, one’s thoughts, one’s actions. Eisenhower famously said that freedom is really the opportunity to practice self-discipline. Cicero called the virtue of temperance the polish of life. Without boundaries and restraint, we risk not only failing to meet our full potential and jeopardizing what we have achieved, but we ensure misery and shame. In a world of temptation and excess, this ancient idea is more urgent than ever.<br /><br />In <i>Discipline is Destiny</i>, Holiday draws on the stories of historical figures we can emulate as pillars of self-discipline, including Lou Gehrig, Queen Elizabeth II, boxer Floyd Patterson, Marcus Aurelius and writer Toni Morrison, as well as the cautionary tales of Napoleon, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Babe Ruth. Through these engaging examples, Holiday teaches readers the power of self-discipline and balance, and cautions against the perils of extravagance and hedonism.<br /> <br />At the heart of Stoicism are four simple virtues: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Everything else, the Stoics believed, flows from them. <i>Discipline is Destiny</i> will guide readers down the path to self-mastery, upon which all the other virtues depend. Discipline is predictive. You cannot succeed without it. And if you lose it, you cannot help but bring yourself failure and unhappiness.]]></book_description>
    <book id="60018575">
      <num_pages>312</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ryan Holiday</author_name>
    <isbn>0593191692</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:17:56 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.22</average_rating>
    <book_published>2022</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60018575-discipline-is-destiny?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656930457l/60018575._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ryan Holiday<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.22<br/>
                                      book published: 2022<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:14:57 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7810458815?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>1635</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p><b><i>"Execution</i> may very well be the best business book of the year,</b> and one of the most useful to have come around in a long time. This smart and pithy book focuses on a simple though vexing challenge: How can the leaders of an organization exhort their people to deliver on the most important goals?....<b>It's rare to find a book like this that blends smart practice with intelligent articulation of how to get things done. Do yourself a favor. Buy it."</b> --<i>The Boston Globe</i></p><p>"Making all of the moving parts of an organization function smoothly together is just plain hard work. By describing how he has done it, Mr. Bossidy has come up with a <b>valuable and practical management guide</b> that is must-reading for everyone who cares about business." --<i>The New York Times</i></p><p><b>"If you want to be a CEO--or if you are a CEO and want to keep your job--read <i>Execution</i> and put its principles to work."</b> --Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell Computer Corp.</p><p><b>"A how-to book for the can-do boss</b>....If even half the corporations in America pondered their suggestions, the economy would be in much better shape. Moreover, Bossidy and Charan boast an impressive enough track record that anyone who wants to stay sharp at the helm will welcome their assistance." --<i>BusinessWeek</i></p><b>"Sound, practical advice on how to make things happen."</b> --Ralph S. Larsen, chairman and CEO, Johnson &amp; Johnson<p><b>"Here's the real deal.... This is no-nonsense stuff</b>.... The leaders who sweat the small stuff, hire the right people, make the tough decisions <i>and</i> stick around to see that they're carried out are the real winners.... Forget the swarmy memoirs, cheesy parables, advice for idiots, and leadership secrets of despots and barbarians. Getting it done is, according to Bossidy and Charan, the only way to grow." --<i>The Miami Herald</i></p><p><b>"Captures a lifetime of building winning formulas and puts them in a simple, practical context for executives at any level."</b> --Ivan Seidenberg, president and CEO, Verizon</p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="1635">
      <num_pages>278</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Larry Bossidy</author_name>
    <isbn>0609610570</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:14:57 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.87</average_rating>
    <book_published>2006</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1635.Execution?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1350857284l/1635._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Larry Bossidy<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.87<br/>
                                      book published: 2006<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7809520202?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 10:32:25 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7809520202?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17718167</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Great work lives inside all of us. The question is: Do we make the contributions we're capable of? Is our best work getting out there? Breaking through? Creating a difference the world loves? We've long been told our ability to succeed depends on our IQ, talent, education level, gender, job title, or when and where we were born. Great Work turns that conventional thinking on its head to reveal that innovation can come from anyone, anywhere. Especially you. With insights from the largest-ever study of award-winning work, Great Work reveals five practical skills that will help you ideate, innovate, and deliver work that gets noticed and appreciated. Great Work is filled with stories of real people in real jobs who did what was asked and then added something extra--a personal touch all their own--to deliver better-than-asked-for results. Their stories will inspire you to write your own page in the book of human progress (co-authored by Mark Cook and Chris Drysdale). PRAISE FOR GREAT WORK " Great Work has me believing anyone can deliver a difference. I predict that 'making a difference people love' will embed itself in our lexicon for decades to come." -- STEPHEN M. R. COVEY, AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLER THE SPEED OF TRUST "I recommend it to everyone, from every background, who has dreams of accomplishing great work." -- BARBARA CORCORAN, REAL ESTATE MOGUL, "SHARK" ON ABC'S SHARK TANK "We all know difference makers who, in small ways, make a profound impact on how we work and live. This book helps us celebrate them." -- TOM POST, MANAGING EDITOR, FORBES MEDIA " Great Work is a great work. It educates, inspires, and offers specific tools any employee or leader can use." -- DAVE ULRICH, PROFESSOR, ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN; PARTNER, THE RBL GROUP "It takes passion, risk, and foresight to think beyond the status quo and see problems as opportunities. This book is inspiration for doing exactly that." -- KARIM RASHID, INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED DESIGNER "Outstanding! A must read. Great Work will give you a whole new toolkit for success." -- LARRY KING, LEGENDARY INTERNATIONAL RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTER]]></book_description>
    <book id="17718167">
      <num_pages>256</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>David Sturt</author_name>
    <isbn>0071818359</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 07 Aug 2025 10:32:25 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17718167-great-work?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380492351l/17718167._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: David Sturt<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.06<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7807249685?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:36:35 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7807249685?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>96884</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In his widely praised book, award-winning psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines the world’s philosophical wisdom through the lens of psychological science, showing how a deeper understanding of enduring maxims-like Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, or What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger-can enrich and even transform our lives.]]></book_description>
    <book id="96884">
      <num_pages>297</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jonathan Haidt</author_name>
    <isbn>0465028020</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:36:35 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
    <book_published>2006</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96884.The_Happiness_Hypothesis?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348779688l/96884._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jonathan Haidt<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.07<br/>
                                      book published: 2006<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/06<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:35:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7807246635?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>13588356</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.</b> <br /><br />“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt<br /><br />Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable, or to dare greatly. Whether the arena is a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation, we must find the courage to walk into vulnerability and engage with our whole hearts.<br /><br />In <i>Daring Greatly</i>, Dr. Brown challenges everything we think we know about vulnerability. Based on twelve years of research, she argues that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement, and meaningful connection. The book that Dr. Brown’s many fans have been waiting for, <i>Daring Greatly</i> will spark a new spirit of truth—and trust—in our organizations, families, schools, and communities.]]></book_description>
    <book id="13588356">
      <num_pages>287</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Brené Brown</author_name>
    <isbn>1592407331</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <average_rating>4.29</average_rating>
    <book_published>2012</book_published>
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                                      author: Brené Brown<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.29<br/>
                                      book published: 2012<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/06<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:34:16 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Hard Times Create Strong Men (Hard Times #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7807243888?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>41677385</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[What does it mean to be a man in the modern world?<br /><br />Throughout history, being a man has meant different things. Maybe being a man was about being a good hunter, or a good soldier, a good businessman or maybe good with women. Hard Times Creates Strong Men examines what it means to be a man in the modern world relative to money, sex, religion and politics. This book examines what worked and what doesn’t work based on proven history instead of feelings. This book is raw, real and politically incorrect, it will threaten and challenge your ideas of what does it mean to be a man and how to better serve your purpose.<br /><br />As the cycles of history proves over and over <br /><br />Hard Times Create Strong Men<br />Strong Men Create Good Times<br />Good Times Create Weak Men<br />Weak Men Create Hard times<br />Hard Times Create Strong Men]]></book_description>
    <book id="41677385">
      <num_pages>624</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Stefan Aarnio</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:34:16 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Stefan Aarnio<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.00<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/06<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:28:06 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7803460733?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>815716</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[You'll learn the key principles of successful leadership such as vision, influence, responsibility and commitment. It highlights ways to set goals for yourself and your team while maintaining emotional balance during difficult times. Each law is backed up by inspiring and practical examples from Maxwell's personal experience.<br /><br />John Maxwell has gone through every word of this book and updated it for the next generation of leaders, adding new insights to these timeless laws and incorporating lessons learned since he originally wrote the book. He removed dated stories and replaced them with fresh ones that apply to today’s world of business.<br /><br />What he didn't change are the powerful leadership truths that have been helping people become better leaders for the last quarter century. This is still the best book on leadership people can buy, whether they want to:<br /><br />- Learn leadership on their own,<br />- Develop as leaders in a group, or<br />- Teach leadership to others as a mentor.<br /><br />The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is essential reading for anyone looking to better understand what it takes to be a great leader and achieve success in their chosen profession.]]></book_description>
    <book id="815716">
      <num_pages>160</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>John C. Maxwell</author_name>
    <isbn>0785274316</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:28:06 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.15</average_rating>
    <book_published>1998</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: John C. Maxwell<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.15<br/>
                                      book published: 1998<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/08/05<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3852839930?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:59:50 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Faust</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3852839930?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>406373</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Goethe’s <i>Faust</i> reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant scholar so disillusioned he resolves to make a contract with Mephistopheles. The devil will do all he asks on Earth and seeks to grant him a moment in life so glorious that he will wish it to last forever. But if Faust does bid the moment stay, he falls to Mephistopheles and must serve him after death. In this first part of Goethe’s great work, the embittered thinker and Mephistopheles enter into their agreement, and soon Faust is living a rejuvenated life and winning the love of the beautiful Gretchen. But in this compelling tragedy of arrogance, unfulfilled desire, and self-delusion, Faust heads inexorably toward an infernal destruction.]]></book_description>
    <book id="406373">
      <num_pages>503</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe</author_name>
    <isbn>0385031149</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:59:50 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:20:24 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>3.90</average_rating>
    <book_published>1808</book_published>
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                                      author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.90<br/>
                                      book published: 1808<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2025/06/19<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3893045068?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 05:57:34 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Qur&apos;an, The</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3893045068?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>42422786</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA["Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful one who taught by the pen, who taught man what he did not know."<br /><br />The Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years ago. It is the supreme authority in Islam and the living source of all Islamic teaching; it is a sacred text and a book of guidance that sets out the creed, rituals, ethics, and laws of the Islamic religion. It has been one of the most influential books in the history of literature. <br /><br />Recognized as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, it has nevertheless remained difficult to understand in its English translations. This new translation is written in a contemporary idiom that remains faithful to the original, making it easy to listen to while retaining its powers of eloquence. Archaisms and cryptic language are avoided and the Arabic meaning preserved by respecting the context of the discourse. The message of the Qur'an was directly addressed to all people regardless of class, gender, or age, and this translation is equally accessible to everyone. <br /><br />About the series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.]]></book_description>
    <book id="42422786">
      <num_pages>0</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Muhammad A.S. Abdel Haleem</author_name>
    <isbn>1721373101</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 24 Sep 2024 05:57:34 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 16 Mar 2021 08:21:12 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.18</average_rating>
    <book_published>632</book_published>
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                                      author: Muhammad A.S. Abdel Haleem<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.18<br/>
                                      book published: 632<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/09/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2261409327?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:15:57 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Around the World in Eighty Days]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2261409327?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>54479</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Pragmatic gambler Phileas Fogg has made a gentlemanly wager to the members of his exclusive club: that he can circle the world in just eighty days, right down to the minute. Fetching his newly appointed French valet, Fogg embarks on a fabulous journey across land and sea—by steamer, rail, and elephant—to win the bet of a lifetime.<br /> <br />Inspired by Jules Verne’s own sea travels and his fascination with circumnavigating the globe, the avid dreamer’s picaresque voyage inspired generations of adventurers who were eager to best Verne’s challenge—from nineteenth-century journalist Nellie Bly to Monty Python’s Michael Palin.]]></book_description>
    <book id="54479">
      <num_pages>252</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jules Verne</author_name>
    <isbn>014044906X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:15:57 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Jan 2018 06:02:44 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.95</average_rating>
    <book_published>1872</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Jules Verne<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.95<br/>
                                      book published: 1872<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/29<br/>
                                      shelves: <br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2372914493?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Aug 2024 13:06:20 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes, #8)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2372914493?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>754713</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[This collection of short stories starts with a short report at the start from Dr. Watson that Holmes is retired in the English countryside and more interested in beekeeping than solving cases. Bothered by a little rheumatism that's all. Only the imminent war with Germany [The Great War / WW1] can bring Holmes out of his voluntary retirement. He will put all his ingenuity and skills at the service of his country if called upon. These eight stories show us how the brilliant tenant of 221B Baker Street, now living near Eastbourne, adapted to a changing world.<br /><br />Doyle hasn't lost his ability to delight readers.<br /><br />The stories are: 1. The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge - in two parts, 1a, The Singular Experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles, and 1b, The Tiger of San Pedro, 2. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, 3. The Adventure of the Red Circle, 4. The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plan, 5. The Adventure of the Dying Detective, 6. The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, 7. The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, and 8. His Last Bow.]]></book_description>
    <book id="754713">
      <num_pages>242</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Arthur Conan Doyle</author_name>
    <isbn>0755334434</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Thu, 24 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Aug 2024 13:06:20 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:38:03 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>detective-mystery</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.25</average_rating>
    <book_published>1917</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/754713.His_Last_Bow?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes, #8)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1368588782l/754713._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Arthur Conan Doyle<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.25<br/>
                                      book published: 1917<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2019/10/24<br/>
                                      date added: 2024/08/07<br/>
                                      shelves: detective-mystery<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2261219784?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:48:04 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Shonku Samagra</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2261219784?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>35842092</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Shonku Shamagra by Satyajit Ray is a popular book which is written by Satyajit Roy. The book is collection of Novels about Professore Shonku Character. Professor Shonku is a fictional scientist created by Satyajit Ray in a series of Bengali science fiction books. His full name is Trilokeshwar Shonku, and by occupation, he is an inventor. He is the son of Dr. Tripureshwar Shonku. Satyajit Ray was a popular bengali writer and was also a film maker, Director etc. He was born 2 May 1921 Kolkata, and died 23 April 1992, Kolkata, India. Satyajit Ray directed more than 36 movies and His first film, Pather Panchali (1955), won eleven international prizes, including Best Human Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival. Feluda Series, Professor Shanku Series, Tarini Khuro Stores, Banku Babur Bandhu, Sonar Kella, Apur Panchali, Protikrity etc are popular Books of Satyajit Ray.]]></book_description>
    <book id="35842092">
      <num_pages>651</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Satyajit Ray</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:48:04 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:41:21 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.74</average_rating>
    <book_published>2002</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35842092-shonku-samagra?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Shonku Samagra" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501221726l/35842092._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Satyajit Ray<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.74<br/>
                                      book published: 2002<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/06/19<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2261219044?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:47:44 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Professor Shanku collection</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2261219044?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>35717340</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500646705l/35717340._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Professor Shonku is a series of science fiction books written by Satyajit Ray. Shonku first appeared in the book “Byomjatrir Diary”. Satyajit Ray was inspired to create “Professor Shonku” based on the characters “Professor Challenger” by Arthur Conan Doyle and “Hesoram Hushiar” by his father Sukumar Ray. <br />Professor Shonku <br />Professor Shonku is a fictional scientist and inventor. His full name is Trilokeshwar Shonku. He finished his BSc degree in both Physics and Chemistry. He knows 69 languages. He has a laboratory where he researches for new and extraordinary inventions in his house in Giridi. He invented many things like “Miracurall” which cures any ailment, “Shankoplast” which is a wonderful plastic etc. <br />He has a servant named Prahllad and a cat named ‘Newton’ which is 24 years old.]]></book_description>
    <book id="35717340">
      <num_pages>651</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Satyajit Ray</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:47:44 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:39:43 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.59</average_rating>
    <book_published>2002</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35717340-professor-shanku-collection?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Professor Shanku collection" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500646705l/35717340._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Satyajit Ray<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.59<br/>
                                      book published: 2002<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2024/06/19<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3922401543?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 21 Aug 2023 05:58:55 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Let's Talk: ...About Making Your Life Exciting, Easier, And Exceptional]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3922401543?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>55370366</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Has Life Gotten Less Exciting? Too Much Work and Way Less Fun? Unwind, Relax, Take a Load Off! Let's Talk . . . <b>When, where, why,</b> and how did life stop being exciting and straightforward? We’ve taken on so much stress and worry. All the time. But why? For what? In the first book in the <b>Let’s Talk </b>series, bon vivant Art Rios talks about how to make life exciting, easier, exceptional, and filled with pleasures— right now. It’s straight talk about modern times. Simple ways to unwind and enjoy life. <b>Let’s Talk </b>is about anything and everything. From happy hour to self-realization. From pursuing pleasures to pandemics to decluttering your life. From gratitude and kindness to lazy Sundays. <b>Whether you’re 18 or 80, it’s never too late to make the most of your life.</b> Join Art and start talking about how to make your life an all-out blast, today.]]></book_description>
    <book id="55370366">
      <num_pages>166</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Art Rios</author_name>
    <isbn>1735459917</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 21 Aug 2023 05:58:55 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:33:44 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.29</average_rating>
    <book_published>2020</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55370366-let-s-talk?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Let&#39;s Talk: ...About Making Your Life Exciting, Easier, And Exceptional" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600454989l/55370366._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Art Rios<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.29<br/>
                                      book published: 2020<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/08/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3942326134?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 29 Jul 2023 09:40:45 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Subjection of Women</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3942326134?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>677591</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA["...John Mill disagrees with the argument that women are naturally less good at some things than men, and should therefore be discouraged or forbidden from doing them. Mill Thought that men simply don't know what women are capable of, because we have never let them try - nobody can not make a statement without evidence. We can't stop women from trying things because they might not be able to do them. An argument based on speculative physiology is just that, speculation..."]]></book_description>
    <book id="677591">
      <num_pages>136</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>John Stuart Mill</author_name>
    <isbn>1594625328</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 29 Jul 2023 09:40:45 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Apr 2021 08:20:55 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, philosophy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.91</average_rating>
    <book_published>1869</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/677591.The_Subjection_of_Women?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Subjection of Women" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348332074l/677591._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: John Stuart Mill<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.91<br/>
                                      book published: 1869<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/07/29<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, philosophy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3014547222?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 12 Jul 2023 23:49:59 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>রূপার পালঙ্ক</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3014547222?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>3128441</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363549024l/3128441._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA["রূপার পালঙ্ক" বইয়ের ফ্ল্যাপের অংশ থেকে নেয়া:<br />শুধু পূর্ণিমার রাতে মােবারকের খুব কষ্ট হয়—আকাশ ভেঙে জোছনা নামে। মােবারকের মনে হয় সমস্ত পৃথিবীটাই বুঝি বিশাল এক রূপার পালঙ্ক । এত প্রকাণ্ড এক পালঙ্কে সে বসে আছে একা। অনেক দূরে দরজার আড়ালে দাঁড়িয়ে। আছে লাজুক একটা মেয়ে। মেয়েটার দিকে তাকিয়ে একবার যদি বলা যায়, খুকি এসাে। সে ছুটে চলে আসবে। কিন্তু মােবারক বলতে পারছে না। কারণ কথাগুলি বলার জন্যে তাকে রূপার পালঙ্ক থেকে নেমে মেয়েটার কাছে যেতে হবে । সে যেতে পারছে না। যে রূপার পালঙ্কে সে বসে আছে সেখান থেকে নামার। ক্ষমতা তার নেই। রাত বাড়ার সঙ্গে সঙ্গে চাদের আলাে তীব্র হয়। রূপার পালঙ্ক ঝকমক করতে থাকে।]]></book_description>
    <book id="3128441">
      <num_pages>87</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Humayun Ahmed</author_name>
    <isbn>9848160647</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 12 Jul 2023 23:49:59 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 16 Oct 2019 06:57:14 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.30</average_rating>
    <book_published>1999</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3128441?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="রূপার পালঙ্ক" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363549024l/3128441._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Humayun Ahmed<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.30<br/>
                                      book published: 1999<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/07/12<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2254547512?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:17:23 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Great Gatsby</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2254547512?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>4671</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Alternate covers of this ISBN can be found <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167078023" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41733839" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13634490-The-Great-Gatsby" rel="nofollow noopener">here</a>.<br /><br /><b>The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.</b><br /><br />This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.<br /><br /><i>The Great Gatsby</i>, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]></book_description>
    <book id="4671">
      <num_pages>180</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>F. Scott Fitzgerald</author_name>
    <isbn>0743273567</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>5</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 18 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:17:23 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 12 Jan 2018 03:55:05 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>favorites</user_shelves>
    <user_review><![CDATA[I bought the novel out of curiosity after watching the title film but delayed reading. And I'm glad that, finally, I was able to make time to read it. I would have read it earlier if I had known that this would be more touching and profound than the film version. I wish Gatsby's fate could have been different if he hadn't met Daisy in his life. Whenever I try to figure out how the incomprehensible emptiness feels like, I remember how much pain Gatsby had in his life, hidden underneath his glamorous lifestyle. This novel made me feel loneliness once again, and I appreciate it. I've figured out something invaluable in this unbearable sadness which helped me rethink the life I lost in vain. You may have almost everything, but missing the person you love can make this life completely black and white, forever! <br /><br /><i> 'He must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at the unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being rerun, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees.' </i>]]></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
    <book_published>1925</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Great Gatsby" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1738790966l/4671._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: F. Scott Fitzgerald<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.93<br/>
                                      book published: 1925<br/>
                                      rating: 5<br/>
                                      read at: 2018/05/18<br/>
                                      date added: 2023/06/10<br/>
                                      shelves: favorites<br/>
                                      review: <br/>I bought the novel out of curiosity after watching the title film but delayed reading. And I'm glad that, finally, I was able to make time to read it. I would have read it earlier if I had known that this would be more touching and profound than the film version. I wish Gatsby's fate could have been different if he hadn't met Daisy in his life. Whenever I try to figure out how the incomprehensible emptiness feels like, I remember how much pain Gatsby had in his life, hidden underneath his glamorous lifestyle. This novel made me feel loneliness once again, and I appreciate it. I've figured out something invaluable in this unbearable sadness which helped me rethink the life I lost in vain. You may have almost everything, but missing the person you love can make this life completely black and white, forever! <br /><br /><i> 'He must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at the unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being rerun, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees.' </i><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4088924665?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:44:44 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Wings of Fire: An Autobiography]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4088924665?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>634583</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the son of a little-educated boat-owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, had an unparalleled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. As chief of the country's defence research and development programme, Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovation that existed in seemingly moribund research establishments. This is the story of Kalam's rise from obscurity and his personal and professional struggles, as well as the story of Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag-missiles that have become household names in India and that have raised the nation to the level of a missile power of international reckoning. This is also the saga of independent India's struggle for technological self-sufficiency and defensive autonomy-a story as much about politics, domestic and international, as it is about science.]]></book_description>
    <book id="634583">
      <num_pages>180</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>A.P.J. Abdul Kalam</author_name>
    <isbn>8173711461</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:44:44 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 01 Jul 2021 05:55:46 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>biography-memoirs, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.28</average_rating>
    <book_published>1999</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/634583.Wings_of_Fire?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Wings of Fire: An Autobiography" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588286863l/634583._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.28<br/>
                                      book published: 1999<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/06/02<br/>
                                      shelves: biography-memoirs, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5591015938?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:22:51 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5591015938?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>95708</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Learn how to overcome procrastination and enjoy guilt-free play!  One of the most effective programs to combat procrastination, THE NOW HABIT has sold over 100,000 copies, has been translated into 11 languages, and is now revised and updated.<br /><br />Featuring a new introduction and a new section providing strategies to understand and deal with the role technology plays in procrastination today, THE NOW HABIT offers a comprehensive plan to help readers lower their stress and increase their time to enjoy guilt-free play. Dr. Fiore’s techniques will help any busy person start tasks sooner and accomplish them more quickly, without the anxiety brought on by the negative habits of procrastination and perfectionism.]]></book_description>
    <book id="95708">
      <num_pages>206</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Neil A. Fiore</author_name>
    <isbn>1585425524</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:22:51 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:22:50 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.87</average_rating>
    <book_published>1988</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95708.The_Now_Habit?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642814376l/95708._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Neil A. Fiore<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.87<br/>
                                      book published: 1988<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/06/02<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5564253032?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 21 May 2023 05:43:35 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5564253032?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>410214</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The renowned communication expert's subtle but effective plan for selling your best asset - yourself - without turning off those you're trying to impress.]]></book_description>
    <book id="410214">
      <num_pages>224</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Peggy Klaus</author_name>
    <isbn>0446692786</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 21 May 2023 05:43:35 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 21 May 2023 05:43:35 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.66</average_rating>
    <book_published>2003</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/410214.Brag_?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344264922l/410214._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Peggy Klaus<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.66<br/>
                                      book published: 2003<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/05/21<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5507720997?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:17:28 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Research Students]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5507720997?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22454199</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Rate yourself on the seven secrets and work out what exactly you can do to improve your progress. Topics covered include dealing with your supervisor, writing, being realistic, and hanging in there when the going gets tough.<br /><br />Table of contents:<br />Care and maintenance of your supervisor<br />Write and show as you go: This is show and tell not hide and seek<br />Be realistic: It's not a Nobel Prize<br />Say no to distractions: Even the fun ones and the ones you think you must do<br />It's a job: That means working nine to five but you get holidays<br />Get help: You are not an owner-operator single person business<br />You can do it: A PhD is 90% persistence and 10% intelligence]]></book_description>
    <book id="22454199">
      <num_pages>46</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Hugh Kearns</author_name>
    <isbn>0725808659</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:17:28 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:17:10 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>favorites, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
    <book_published>2012</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22454199-the-seven-secrets-of-highly-successful-research-students?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Research Students" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1402450118l/22454199._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Hugh Kearns<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.93<br/>
                                      book published: 2012<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/04/24<br/>
                                      shelves: favorites, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5438826022?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 24 Mar 2023 22:41:19 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5438826022?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>59616977</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[For the first time in history, we have instantaneous access to the world’s knowledge. There has never been a better time to learn, to contribute, and to improve ourselves. Yet, rather than feeling empowered, we are often left feeling overwhelmed by this constant influx of information. The very knowledge that was supposed to set us free has instead led to the paralyzing stress of believing we’ll never know or remember enough.<br /> <br />Now, this eye-opening and accessible guide shows how you can easily create your own personal system for knowledge management, otherwise known as a Second Brain. As a trusted and organized digital repository of your most valued ideas, notes, and creative work synced across all your devices and platforms, a Second Brain gives you the confidence to tackle your most important projects and ambitious goals. <br /> <br />Discover the full potential of your ideas and translate what you know into more powerful, more meaningful improvements in your work and life by <i>Building a Second Brain</i>.]]></book_description>
    <book id="59616977">
      <num_pages>272</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Tiago Forte</author_name>
    <isbn>1982167386</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 24 Mar 2023 22:41:19 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 24 Mar 2023 22:41:18 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.96</average_rating>
    <book_published>2022</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59616977-building-a-second-brain?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652891488l/59616977._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Tiago Forte<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.96<br/>
                                      book published: 2022<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2023/03/24<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4992225591?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Sep 2022 07:17:12 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4992225591?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>6667514</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>The <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Better</em> and <em>Complications</em> reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklist</b><br /><br />We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third.<br /><br />In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds.<br /><br />An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, <em>The Checklist Manifesto</em> is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.]]></book_description>
    <book id="6667514">
      <num_pages>208</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Atul Gawande</author_name>
    <isbn>0805091742</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Sep 2022 07:17:12 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Sep 2022 07:16:59 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves><![CDATA[self-help, to-read, books-to-buy]]></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667514-the-checklist-manifesto?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647403235l/6667514._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Atul Gawande<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.00<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/09/17<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help, to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4568610026?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 25 Jun 2022 00:33:12 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4568610026?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23602567</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423673907l/23602567._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Joan Rivers was known all over the world—from the Palace Theater to Buckingham Palace, from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the footlights of Broadway, from the days of talkies to hosting talk shows. But there was only one person who knew Joan intimately, one person who the authorities would call when she got a little out of hand. Her daughter and best friend, Melissa.</b><br /> <br /> Joan and Melissa Rivers had one of the most celebrated mother-daughter relationships of all time. If you think Joan said some outrageous things to her audiences as a comedian, you won’t believe what she said and did in private. Her love for her daughter knew no bounds—or boundaries, apparently. ("Melissa, I acknowledge that you have boundaries. I just choose to not respect them.") <i>In The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation</i>, Melissa shares stories (like when she was nine months old and her parents delivered her to Johnny Carson as a birthday gift), bon mots (“Missy, is there anything better than seeing a really good looking couple pushing a baby that looks like a Sasquatch who got caught in a house fire?”), and life lessons from growing up in the Rosenberg-Rivers household (“I can do tips and discounts and figure out the number of gay men in an audience to make it a good show. That’s all the math you’ll ever need.”). These were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to life in the family that Melissa describes as more Addams than Cleaver. And at the center of it all was a tiny blond force of nature.<br /> <br /><i>In The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation</i>, Melissa Rivers relates funny, poignant and irreverent observations, thoughts, and tales about the woman who raised her and is the reason she considers valium one of the four basic food groups.]]></book_description>
    <book id="23602567">
      <num_pages>304</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Melissa Rivers</author_name>
    <isbn>1101903821</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 25 Jun 2022 00:33:12 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:02:06 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>biography-memoirs, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23602567-the-book-of-joan?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423673907l/23602567._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Melissa Rivers<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.62<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/06/25<br/>
                                      shelves: biography-memoirs, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3923612424?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 May 2022 20:04:43 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Power of Positive Thinking]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3923612424?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>1134122</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>"This book is written with the sole objective of helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying, and worthwhile life."</i><p></p><p> -- Norman Vincent Peale</p><p></p><p>The precursor to <i>The Secret, The Power of Positive Thinking</i> has helped millions of men and women to achieve fulfillment in their lives. In this phenomenal bestseller, Dr. Peale demonstrates the power of faith in action. With the practical techniques outlined in this book, you can energize your life -- and give yourself the initiative needed to carry out your ambitions and hopes. You'll learn how to:</p><p></p><p></p> 
  <p> </p>
   Expect the best and get it 
  <p></p>
  <p> </p>
   Believe in yourself and in everything you do 
  <p></p>
  <p> </p>
   Develop the power to reach your goals 
  <p></p>
  <p> </p>
   Break the worry habit and achieve a relaxed life 
  <p></p>
  <p> </p>
   Improve your personal and professional relationships  
  <p></p>
  <p> </p>
   Assume control over your circumstances 
  <p></p>
  <p> </p>
   Be kind to yourself 
  <p></p>
 <p></p><p></p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="1134122">
      <num_pages>128</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Norman Vincent Peale</author_name>
    <isbn>1416560610</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 May 2022 20:04:43 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Apr 2021 23:56:53 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>books-to-buy, self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.15</average_rating>
    <book_published>1952</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1134122.The_Power_of_Positive_Thinking?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Power of Positive Thinking" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587724137l/1134122._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Norman Vincent Peale<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.15<br/>
                                      book published: 1952<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/05/14<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4692207307?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:55:24 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4692207307?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>36959766</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>
  <b>Canada's productivity expert returns with a totally fresh angle on how to do more with less.</b>
</b><br /><br />Throughout his experiments and research, Chris Bailey came across many little-known insights into how we focus (a key element of productivity), including the surprising idea that focus isn't so much a state of heightened awareness (as we'd assume), but a balance between two frames of mind. The most recent neuroscientific research on attention reveals that our brain has two powerful modes that can be unlocked when we use our attention well: a focused mode (hyperfocus), which is the foundation for being highly productive, and a creative mode (scatterfocus), which enables us to connect ideas in novel ways. <i>Hyperfocus</i> helps readers unlock both, so they can concentrate more deeply, think more clearly, and work and live more deliberately. Diving deep into the science and theories about how and why we bring our attention to bear on life's big goals and everyday tasks, Chris Bailey takes his unique approach to productivity to the next level in <i>Hyperfocus, </i> while retaining the approachable voice and perspective that made him a fast favourite.]]></book_description>
    <book id="36959766">
      <num_pages>256</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Chris   Bailey</author_name>
    <isbn>0735273685</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:55:24 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:55:05 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.85</average_rating>
    <book_published>2018</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36959766-hyperfocus?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525203482l/36959766._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Chris   Bailey<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.85<br/>
                                      book published: 2018<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/04/27<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4671201461?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 16 Apr 2022 06:52:35 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4671201461?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23317538</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.<br /><br />It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in <i>Rising Strong</i>. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people—from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents—shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, <i>What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common?</i> The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid to lean in to discomfort.<br /><br />Walking into our stories of hurt can feel dangerous. But the process of regaining our footing in the midst of struggle is where our courage is tested and our values are forged. Our stories of struggle can be big ones, like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship, or smaller ones, like a conflict with a friend or colleague. Regardless of magnitude or circumstance, the rising strong process is the same: We <i>reckon</i> with our emotions and get curious about what we’re feeling; we <i>rumble</i> with our stories until we get to a place of truth; and we live this process, every day, until it becomes a practice and creates nothing short of a <i>revolution</i> in our lives. Rising strong after a fall is how we cultivate wholeheartedness. It’s the process, Brown writes, that teaches us the most about who we are.]]></book_description>
    <book id="23317538">
      <num_pages>336</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Brené Brown</author_name>
    <isbn>0812995821</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 16 Apr 2022 06:52:35 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 16 Apr 2022 06:51:57 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.24</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23317538-rising-strong?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1641983383l/23317538._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Brené Brown<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.24<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/04/16<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3923638057?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 06:09:13 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3923638057?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>180116</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Wake up and take control of your life! From the bestselling author of Inner Strength , Unlimited Power , and MONEY Master the Game, Anthony Robbins, the nation's leader in the science of peak performance, shows you his most effective strategies and techniques for mastering your emotions, your body, your relationships, your finances, and your life.<br /><br />The acknowledged expert in the psychology of change, Anthony Robbins provides a step-by-step program teaching the fundamental lessons of self-mastery that will enable you to discover your true purpose, take control of your life, and harness the forces that shape your destiny.]]></book_description>
    <book id="180116">
      <num_pages>544</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Anthony Robbins</author_name>
    <isbn>0671791540</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 06:09:13 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 03 Apr 2021 00:28:39 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>books-to-buy, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.16</average_rating>
    <book_published>1992</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180116.Awaken_the_Giant_Within?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415677371l/180116._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Anthony Robbins<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.16<br/>
                                      book published: 1992<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/04/05<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4650436455?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:06:49 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4650436455?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>7108725</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Why do you do what you do?</b><br /><br />Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?<br /><br />People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all <i>started with why</i>. It was their natural ability to start with why that enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things.<br /><br />In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way—and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be lead, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.<br /><br />Any organization can explain <i>what</i> it does; some can explain <i>how</i> they do it; but very few can clearly articulate <i>why</i>. WHY is not money or profit—those are always results. WHY does your organization exist? WHY does it do the things it does? WHY do customers really buy from one company or another? WHY are people loyal to some leaders, but not others?<br /><br />Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics. Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And the people who follow them don't do so because they have to; they follow because they want to.<br /><br />Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire. This book is for anyone who wants to inspire others or who wants to find someone to inspire them.]]></book_description>
    <book id="7108725">
      <num_pages>256</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Simon Sinek</author_name>
    <isbn>1591842808</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:06:49 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:06:39 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.10</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108725-start-with-why?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360936414l/7108725._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Simon Sinek<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.10<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/04/05<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4650432788?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:03:54 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4650432788?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>6452796</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>The <i>New York Times</i> bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation </b><br /><br />Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of <i>To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others</i>). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.<br /><br />Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose—and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.]]></book_description>
    <book id="6452796">
      <num_pages>242</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Daniel H. Pink</author_name>
    <isbn>1594488843</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:03:54 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:03:47 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>self-help, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.94</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452796-drive?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348931599l/6452796._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Daniel H. Pink<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.94<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/04/05<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4650428625?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:00:34 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4650428625?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>76865</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The Challenge:<br />Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.<br /><br />But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?<br /><br />The Study:<br />For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?<br /><br />The Standards:<br />Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck.<br /><br />The Comparisons:<br />The research team contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap from good to great. What was different? Why did one set of companies become truly great performers while the other set remained only good?<br /><br />Over five years, the team analyzed the histories of all twenty-eight companies in the study. After sifting through mountains of data and thousands of pages of interviews, Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness -- why some companies make the leap and others don't.<br /><br />The Findings:<br />The findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice. The findings include:<br /><br />Level 5 Leaders: The research team was shocked to discover the type of leadership required to achieve greatness.<br />The Hedgehog Concept: (Simplicity within the Three Circles): To go from good to great requires transcending the curse of competence.<br />A Culture of Discipline: When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results. Technology Accelerators: Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology.<br />The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Those who launch radical change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap.<br />“Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people.”<br /><br />Perhaps, but who can afford to ignore these findings?]]></book_description>
    <book id="76865">
      <num_pages>300</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Jim Collins</author_name>
    <isbn>0066620996</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:00:34 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:00:23 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>self-help, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.12</average_rating>
    <book_published>2001</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76865.Good_to_Great?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don&#39;t" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546097703l/76865._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Jim Collins<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.12<br/>
                                      book published: 2001<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/04/05<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4568610873?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:03:11 -0800]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4568610873?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>43233598</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Beneath the gloss of star chefs and crystal-laden tables, the truffle supply chain is touched by theft, secrecy, sabotage, and fraud. Farmers patrol their fields with rifles and fear losing trade secrets to spies. Hunters plant poisoned meatballs to eliminate rival truffle-hunting dogs. Naive buyers and even knowledgeable experts are duped by liars and counterfeits. <br /><br />This exposé documents the dark, sometimes deadly crimes at each level of the truffle’s path from ground to plate, making sense of an industry that traffics in scarcity, seduction, and cash.]]></book_description>
    <book id="43233598">
      <num_pages>288</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ryan   Jacobs</author_name>
    <isbn>0451495691</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:03:11 -0800]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:03:11 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43233598-the-truffle-underground?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World&#39;s Most Expensive Fungus" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544807830l/43233598._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ryan   Jacobs<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.72<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2022/02/23<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4281002834?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 10 Oct 2021 03:20:11 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4281002834?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>40102</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made <i>The Tipping Point</i> a classic, <i>Blink</i> changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.<br /><br />Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work - in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? <br /><br />In <i>Blink</i> we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.]]></book_description>
    <book id="40102">
      <num_pages>296</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Malcolm Gladwell</author_name>
    <isbn>0316010669</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>3</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 10 Oct 2021 03:20:11 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 10 Oct 2021 03:16:28 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
    <book_published>2005</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40102.Blink?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440763417l/40102._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Malcolm Gladwell<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.97<br/>
                                      book published: 2005<br/>
                                      rating: 3<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/10/10<br/>
                                      shelves: <br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218142598?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:39:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Family Matters (Vintage International)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218142598?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>19661</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Rohinton Mistry’s enthralling novel is at once a domestic drama and an intently observed portrait of present-day Bombay in all its vitality and corruption. At the age of seventy-nine, Nariman Vakeel, already suffering from Parkinson’s disease, breaks an ankle and finds himself wholly dependent on his family. His step-children, Coomy and Jal, have a spacious apartment (in the inaptly named Chateau Felicity), but are too squeamish and resentful to tend to his physical needs.<br /><br />Nariman must now turn to his younger daughter, Roxana, her husband, Yezad, and their two sons, who share a small, crowded home. Their decision will test not only their material resources but, in surprising ways, all their tolerance, compassion, integrity, and faith. Sweeping and intimate, tragic and mirthful, <i>Family Matters</i> is a work of enormous emotional power.]]></book_description>
    <book id="19661">
      <num_pages>434</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Rohinton Mistry</author_name>
    <isbn>037570342X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:39:47 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:39:43 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.04</average_rating>
    <book_published>2002</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19661.Family_Matters?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Family Matters (Vintage International)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388279746l/19661._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Rohinton Mistry<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.04<br/>
                                      book published: 2002<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/09/04<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218140351?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:38:06 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>A Fine Balance</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218140351?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>5211</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India. <br /><br />The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future. <br /><br />As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, <i>A Fine Balance</i> creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.]]></book_description>
    <book id="5211">
      <num_pages>603</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Rohinton Mistry</author_name>
    <isbn>140003065X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:38:06 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:38:03 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.38</average_rating>
    <book_published>1995</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5211.A_Fine_Balance?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="A Fine Balance" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551173390l/5211._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Rohinton Mistry<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.38<br/>
                                      book published: 1995<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/09/04<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218138248?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:36:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Stone Diaries</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218138248?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>77554</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1285159303l/77554._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>The Stone Diaries</i> is one ordinary woman's story of her journey through life. Born in 1905, Daisy Stone Goodwill drifts through the roles of child, wife, widow, and mother, and finally into her old age. Bewildered by her inability to understand her place in her own life, Daisy attempts to find a way to tell her story within a novel that is itself about the limitations of autobiography. Her life is vivid with incident, and yet she feels a sense of powerlessness. She listens, she observes, and through sheer force of imagination she becomes a witness of her own life: her birth, her death, and the troubling missed connections she discovers between. Daisy's struggle to find a place for herself in her own life is a paradigm of the unsettled decades of our era. A witty and compassionate anatomist of the human heart, Carol Shields has made distinctively her own that place where the domestic collides with the elemental. With irony and humor she weaves the strands of <i>The Stone Diaries</i> together in this, her richest and most poignant novel to date.]]></book_description>
    <book id="77554">
      <num_pages>361</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Carol Shields</author_name>
    <isbn>014023313X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:36:21 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:36:19 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.90</average_rating>
    <book_published>1993</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77554.The_Stone_Diaries?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Stone Diaries" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1285159303l/77554._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Carol Shields<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.90<br/>
                                      book published: 1993<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/09/04<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218134522?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:33:20 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Cat&apos;s Table</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218134522?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>11076177</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327934764l/11076177._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A spellbinding story - by turns poignant and electrifying - about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.<br /><br />In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the "cat's table" - as far from the Captain's Table as can be - with a ragtag group of "insignificant" adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: one man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narrator's elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself "with a distant eye" for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire. Another Cat's Table denizen, the shadowy Miss Lasqueti, is perhaps more than what she seems. And very late every night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and his fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.<br /><br />As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy's adult years, it tells a spellbinding story - by turns poignant and electrifying - about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.]]></book_description>
    <book id="11076177">
      <num_pages>269</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Michael Ondaatje</author_name>
    <isbn>0224093614</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:33:20 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:33:19 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.61</average_rating>
    <book_published>2011</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11076177-the-cat-s-table?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Cat&#39;s Table" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327934764l/11076177._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Michael Ondaatje<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.61<br/>
                                      book published: 2011<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/09/04<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218131807?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:31:10 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The English Patient</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218131807?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>11713</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal,and rescue illuminates this book like flashes of heat lightening.]]></book_description>
    <book id="11713">
      <num_pages>320</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Michael Ondaatje</author_name>
    <isbn>0771068719</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 04 Sep 2021 06:31:10 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
    <book_published>1992</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11713.The_English_Patient?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The English Patient" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320527907l/11713._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Michael Ondaatje<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.88<br/>
                                      book published: 1992<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/09/04<br/>
                                      shelves: novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4217756624?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 03 Sep 2021 23:30:30 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4217756624?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>65229</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432906221l/65229._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Anyone who watches the television news has seen images of firefighters rescuing people from burning buildings and paramedics treating bombing victims. How do these individuals make the split-second decisions that save lives? Most studies of decision making, based on artificial tasks assigned in laboratory settings, view people as biased and unskilled. Gary Klein is one of the developers of the naturalistic decision making approach, which views people as inherently skilled and experienced. It documents human strengths and capabilities that so far have been downplayed or ignored. Since 1985, Klein has conducted fieldwork to find out how people tackle challenges in difficult, nonroutine situations. Sources of Power is based on observations of humans acting under such real-life constraints as time pressure, high stakes, personal responsibility, and shifting conditions. The professionals studied include firefighters, critical care nurses, pilots, nuclear power plant operators, battle planners, and chess masters. Each chapter builds on key incidents and examples to make the description of the methodology and phenomena more vivid. In addition to providing information that can be used by professionals in management, psychology, engineering, and other fields, the book presents an overview of the research approach of naturalistic decision making and expands our knowledge of the strengths people bring to difficult tasks.]]></book_description>
    <book id="65229">
      <num_pages>338</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Gary Klein</author_name>
    <isbn>0262611465</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 03 Sep 2021 23:30:30 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 03 Sep 2021 23:30:29 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
    <book_published>1998</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65229.Sources_of_Power?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432906221l/65229._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Gary Klein<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.97<br/>
                                      book published: 1998<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/09/03<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4088893143?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:43:27 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Snow Crash</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4088893143?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>40651883</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589842551l/40651883._SX50_.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="40651883">
      <num_pages>559</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Neal Stephenson</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:43:27 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 01 Jul 2021 05:32:02 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>novels-to-buy, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
    <book_published>1992</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40651883-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/1589842551l/40651883._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Neal Stephenson<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.02<br/>
                                      book published: 1992<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/29<br/>
                                      shelves: novels-to-buy, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4088981581?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:43:20 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4088981581?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>386187</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt interweaves a first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.<br /><br />The story is peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproarious black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else.]]></book_description>
    <book id="386187">
      <num_pages>386</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>John Berendt</author_name>
    <isbn>0679751521</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:43:20 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 01 Jul 2021 06:37:13 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>novels-to-buy, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.91</average_rating>
    <book_published>1994</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386187.Midnight_in_the_Garden_of_Good_and_Evil?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427166915l/386187._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: John Berendt<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.91<br/>
                                      book published: 1994<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/29<br/>
                                      shelves: novels-to-buy, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2256193319?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:43:08 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>One Night at the Call Center</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2256193319?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>105578</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320500924l/105578._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Press 1 for technical support.<br />Press 2 for broken hearts.<br />Press 3 if your life has totally crashed. . . .<br /><br />Six friends work nights at a call center in India, providing technical support for a major U.S. appliance corporation. Skilled in patience–and accent management–they help American consumers keep their lives running. Yet behind the headsets, everybody’s heart is on the line.<br /><br />Shyam (Sam to his callers) has lost his self-confidence after being dumped by the girl who just so happens to be sitting next to him. Priyanka’s domineering mother has arranged for her daughter’s upscale marriage to an Indian man in Seattle. Esha longs to be a model but discovers it’s a horizontal romp to the runway. Lost, dissatisfied Vroom has high ideals, but compromises them by talking on the phone to idiots each night. Traditional Radhika has just found out that her husband is sleeping with his secretary. And Military Uncle (nobody knows his real name) sits alone working the online chat.<br /><br />They all try to make it through their shifts–and maintain their sanity–under the eagle eye of a boss whose ego rivals his incompetence. But tonight is no ordinary night. Tonight is Thanksgiving in Appliances are going haywire, and the phones are ringing off their hooks. Then one call, from one very special caller, changes everything.<br /><br />Chetan Bhagat’s delicious romantic comedy takes us inside the world of the international call center, where cultural cross-wires come together with perfect pathos, hilarity, and spice.]]></book_description>
    <book id="105578">
      <num_pages>320</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Chetan Bhagat</author_name>
    <isbn>0345498321</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>2</user_rating>
    <user_read_at><![CDATA[Fri, 1 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000]]></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:43:08 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 13 Jan 2018 10:20:51 -0800]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>2.49</average_rating>
    <book_published>2005</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/105578.One_Night_at_the_Call_Center?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="One Night at the Call Center" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320500924l/105578._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Chetan Bhagat<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 2.49<br/>
                                      book published: 2005<br/>
                                      rating: 2<br/>
                                      read at: 2016/01/01<br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/29<br/>
                                      shelves: <br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3376097193?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 25 Aug 2021 03:18:59 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Alchemist</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3376097193?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18144590</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654371463l/18144590._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom, and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, <i>The Alchemist</i> has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.<br /><br />Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, following our dreams.]]></book_description>
    <book id="18144590">
      <num_pages>182</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Paulo Coelho</author_name>
    <isbn>0062315005</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>4</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Wed, 25 Aug 2021 03:18:59 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 05 Jun 2020 11:31:12 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves></user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.01</average_rating>
    <book_published>1988</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144590-the-alchemist?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Alchemist" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654371463l/18144590._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Paulo Coelho<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.01<br/>
                                      book published: 1988<br/>
                                      rating: 4<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/25<br/>
                                      shelves: <br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176156173?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:27:16 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176156173?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>46756</book_id>
    <book_image_url><![CDATA[https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668379066l/46756._SY75_.jpg]]></book_image_url>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780385721677</i>.<br /><b>Oryx and Crake</b> is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.]]></book_description>
    <book id="46756">
      <num_pages>389</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Margaret Atwood</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:27:16 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:27:13 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <book_published>2003</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46756.Oryx_and_Crake?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668379066l/46756._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Margaret Atwood<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.00<br/>
                                      book published: 2003<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176151444?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:24:02 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176151444?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>47989</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch had it all. But now he's back in his own rough, tough past without even the clothes he was standing up in when the lightning struck...<br /><br />Living in the past is hard. Dying in the past is incredibly easy. But he must survive, because he has a job to do. He must track down a murderer, teach his younger self how to be a good copper, and change the outcome of a bloody rebellion. There's a problem: if he wins, he's got no wife, no child, no future.<br /><br />A Discworld Tale of One City, with a full chorus of street urchins, ladies of negotiable affection, rebels, secret policemen, and other children of the revolution.<br /><br />Truth! Justice! Freedom! <br />And a Hard-boiled Egg!]]></book_description>
    <book id="47989">
      <num_pages>480</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Terry Pratchett</author_name>
    <isbn>055215430X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:24:02 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.49</average_rating>
    <book_published>2002</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47989.Night_Watch?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320518310l/47989._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Terry Pratchett<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.49<br/>
                                      book published: 2002<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176149514?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:23:08 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176149514?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>9516</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.<br /><br />Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.]]></book_description>
    <book id="9516">
      <num_pages>153</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Marjane Satrapi</author_name>
    <isbn>037571457X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:23:08 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:22:47 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.28</average_rating>
    <book_published>2003</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9516.Persepolis?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425871473l/9516._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Marjane Satrapi<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.28<br/>
                                      book published: 2003<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176148773?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:22:20 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Human Chain</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176148773?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>8099283</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[《人之链》是诺贝尔文学奖得主希尼的最后一本诗集，出版于2010年，获得2011年《波士顿环球报》年度最佳诗集（A Boston Globe Best Poetry Book of 2011）、格里芬诗歌奖（Winner of the 2011 Griffin Poetry Prize）和现代诗歌奖（Winner of the 2011 Poetry Now Award）。诗集立足于诗人晚年，深入过去找回经历中的每一次启示和证明。其核心是一个不断扩展的形象: 人与人拉起手站在一起，逐渐连成一片，跨越时空蔓延而去。这 里有关于亲情和友爱的伦理，有劳动者之间的互助协作，对转世重生的冥想，有对家人亡魂的拥抱，有神秘之光幽微的闪烁，也有对新生儿好奇的凝视。这些形象以各种方式勾连、映射、互衬，在回忆之光中结合成为一个整体的象征，代表一个完整而有机的世界。诗人这些晚年的作品，拥有一种平静的光亮，就像夏天的夜晚没有黑暗下去，而是变得越来越晴朗。]]></book_description>
    <book id="8099283">
      <num_pages>85</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Seamus Heaney</author_name>
    <isbn>0374173516</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:22:20 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>3.96</average_rating>
    <book_published>2010</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8099283-human-chain?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Human Chain" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317791447l/8099283._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Seamus Heaney<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.96<br/>
                                      book published: 2010<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176146999?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:21:28 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Levels of Life</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176146999?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17262198</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Julian Barnes's new book is about ballooning, photography, love and grief; about putting two things, and two people, together, and about tearing them apart.<br /><br />"You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed..." <br /><br />One of the judges who awarded him the 2011 Man Booker Prize described him as "an unparalleled magus of the heart." This book confirms that opinion.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17262198">
      <num_pages>128</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Julian Barnes</author_name>
    <isbn>0385350775</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:21:28 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:21:13 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</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/17262198-levels-of-life?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Levels of Life" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363837006l/17262198._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Julian Barnes<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.94<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176145929?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:20:37 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176145929?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28048</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[With <i>Hope in the Dark</i>, Rebecca Solnit makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable. Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argues that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next.<br /><br />Originally published in 2004, now with a new foreword and afterword, Solnit’s influential book shines a light into the darkness of our time in an unforgettable new edition.]]></book_description>
    <book id="28048">
      <num_pages>192</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Rebecca Solnit</author_name>
    <isbn>1841956600</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:20:37 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:20:34 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.99</average_rating>
    <book_published>2004</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28048.Hope_in_the_Dark?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388245698l/28048._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Rebecca Solnit<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.99<br/>
                                      book published: 2004<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176143897?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:19:58 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Moneyball</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176143897?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>1301</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's <i>Moneyball</i>, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans. <p> Lewis was in the room with the A's top management as they spent the summer of 2002 adding and subtracting players and he provides outstanding play-by-play. In the June player draft, Beane acquired nearly every prospect he coveted (few of whom were coveted by other teams) and at the July trading deadline he engaged in a tense battle of nerves to acquire a lefty reliever. Besides being one of the most insider accounts ever written about baseball, <i>Moneyball</i> is populated with fascinating characters. We meet Jeremy Brown, an overweight college catcher who most teams project to be a 15th round draft pick (Beane takes him in the first). Sidearm pitcher Chad Bradford is plucked from the White Sox triple-A club to be a key set-up man and catcher Scott Hatteberg is rebuilt as a first baseman. But the most interesting character is Beane himself. A speedy athletic can't-miss prospect who somehow missed, Beane reinvents himself as a front-office guru, relying on players completely unlike, say, Billy Beane. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era (<i>Liar's Poker</i>, <i>The New New Thing</i>), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makes <i>Moneyball</i> an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike. <i>--John Moe</i></p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="1301">
      <num_pages>317</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Michael   Lewis</author_name>
    <isbn>0393324818</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:19:58 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:19:19 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.26</average_rating>
    <book_published>2003</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1301.Moneyball?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Moneyball" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388176510l/1301._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Michael   Lewis<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.26<br/>
                                      book published: 2003<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176143506?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:19:07 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Year of Magical Thinking</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176143506?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>7815</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b><i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A landmark work about grief, love, and survival from one of America’s most iconic writers<br /><br />One of <i>The New York Times’s</i> 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of <i>The Guardian’s</i> 100 Best Books of the 21st Century</b><br /><br />Joan Didion delivers a searing portrait of a marriage and a life – in good times and bad – that will speak to anyone who has ever loved and lost a husband or wife or child. In a work of electric honesty and passion, Didion explores how we all, somehow, will ourselves to survive. “An utterly shattering portrait of loss and grief.” <i>–The New York Times</i><br /><br />Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana Roo, fall ill with septic shock. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later, the Dunnes were sitting down to dinner after visiting their daughter in the hospital when John suffered a fatal heart attack. In that one moment, their partnership of forty years came to an end.<br /><br />This powerful narrative is Didion's “attempt to make sense of the weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness…about marriage and children and memory…about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself.”<br /><br /><b>“Didion has transformed grief into literature.” <i>—The Guardian</i></b>]]></book_description>
    <book id="7815">
      <num_pages>227</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Joan Didion</author_name>
    <isbn>1400078431</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:19:07 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:19:05 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
    <book_published>2005</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7815.The_Year_of_Magical_Thinking?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Year of Magical Thinking" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1703310133l/7815._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Joan Didion<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.93<br/>
                                      book published: 2005<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176142010?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:18:14 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Line of Beauty</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176142010?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>139087</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their two children, Toby-whom Nick had idolized at Oxford-and Catherine, highly critical of her family's assumptions and ambitions. <br /><br />As the boom years of the eighties unfold, Nick, an innocent in the world of politics and money, finds his life altered by the rising fortunes of this glamorous family. His two vividly contrasting love affairs, one with a young black clerk and one with a Lebanese millionaire, dramatize the dangers and rewards of his own private pursuit of beauty, a pursuit as compelling to Nick as the desire for power and riches among his friends.<br /><br />Richly textured, emotionally charged, disarmingly comic, this U.K. bestseller is a major work by one of our finest writers.]]></book_description>
    <book id="139087">
      <num_pages>438</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Alan Hollinghurst</author_name>
    <isbn>0739464469</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:18:14 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:18:08 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
    <book_published>2004</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/139087.The_Line_of_Beauty?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Line of Beauty" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617266176l/139087._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Alan Hollinghurst<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.78<br/>
                                      book published: 2004<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176140728?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:17:24 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Green Road</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176140728?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>26530354</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[From internationally acclaimed author Anne Enright comes a shattering novel set in a small town on Ireland's Atlantic coast. <em>The Green Road</em> is a tale of family and fracture, compassion and selfishness—a book about the gaps in the human heart and how we strive to fill them.<br /><br />Spanning thirty years, <em>The Green Road</em> tells the story of Rosaleen, matriarch of the Madigans, a family on the cusp of either coming together or falling irreparably apart. As they grow up, Rosaleen's four children leave the west of Ireland for lives they could have never imagined in Dublin, New York, and Mali, West Africa. In her early old age their difficult, wonderful mother announces that she’s decided to sell the house and divide the proceeds. Her adult children come back for a last Christmas, with the feeling that their childhoods are being erased, their personal history bought and sold.<br /><br />A profoundly moving work about a family's desperate attempt to recover the relationships they've lost and forge the ones they never had, <em>The Green Road</em> is Enright's most mature, accomplished, and unforgettable novel to date.]]></book_description>
    <book id="26530354">
      <num_pages>336</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Anne Enright</author_name>
    <isbn>0393352803</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:17:24 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:17:21 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.49</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26530354-the-green-road?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Green Road" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459531010l/26530354._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Anne Enright<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.49<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176137852?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:15:38 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Time&apos;s Arrow</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176137852?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>23031</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In <i>Time's Arrow</i> the doctor Tod T. Friendly dies and then feels markedly better, breaks up with his lovers as a prelude to seducing them, and mangles his patients before he sends them home. And all the while Tod's life races backward in time toward the one appalling moment in modern history when such reversals make sense.<br /><br />]]></book_description>
    <book id="23031">
      <num_pages>165</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Martin Amis</author_name>
    <isbn>0679735720</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:15:38 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:15:36 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
    <book_published>1991</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23031.Time_s_Arrow?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Time&#39;s Arrow" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1748345434l/23031._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Martin Amis<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.78<br/>
                                      book published: 1991<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176137583?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:15:28 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Money</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176137583?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18825</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Time</i> Magazine included the book in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The story of John Self and his insatiable appetite for money, alcohol, fast food, drugs, pornography, and more, <i>Money</i> is ceaselessly inventive and thrillingly savage; a tale of life lived without restraint, of money and the disasters it can precipitate.]]></book_description>
    <book id="18825">
      <num_pages>394</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Martin Amis</author_name>
    <isbn>0099461889</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:15:28 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:15:25 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.71</average_rating>
    <book_published>1984</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18825.Money?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Money" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367084993l/18825._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Martin Amis<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.71<br/>
                                      book published: 1984<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176131547?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:11:42 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176131547?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>7821828</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<p>The Ephrussis were a grand banking family, as rich and respected as the Rothschilds, who “burned like a comet” in nineteenth-century Paris and Vienna society. Yet by the end of World War II, almost the only thing remaining of their vast empire was a collection of 264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox.<br /><br />The renowned ceramicist Edmund de Waal became the fifth generation to inherit this small and exquisite collection of netsuke. Entranced by their beauty and mystery, he determined to trace the story of his family through the story of the collection.<br /><br />The netsuke—drunken monks, almost-ripe plums, snarling tigers—were gathered by Charles Ephrussi at the height of the Parisian rage for all things Japanese. Charles had shunned the place set aside for him in the family business to make a study of art, and of beautiful living. An early supporter of the Impressionists, he appears, oddly formal in a top hat, in Renoir’s <i>Luncheon of</i><i> the Boating Party</i>. Marcel Proust studied Charles closely enough to use him as a model for the aesthete and lover Swann in <i>Remembrance of Things Past</i>.<br /><br />Charles gave the carvings as a wedding gift to his cousin Viktor in Vienna; his children were allowed to play with one netsuke each while they watched their mother, the Baroness Emmy, dress for ball after ball. Her older daughter grew up to disdain fashionable society. Longing to write, she struck up a correspondence with Rilke, who encouraged her in her poetry.<br /><br />The Anschluss changed their world beyond recognition. Ephrussi and his cosmopolitan family were imprisoned or scattered, and Hitler’s theorist on the “Jewish question” appropriated their magnificent palace on the Ringstrasse. A library of priceless books and a collection of Old Master paintings were confiscated by the Nazis. But the netsuke were smuggled away by a loyal maid, Anna, and hidden in her straw mattress. Years after the war, she would find a way to return them to the family she’d served even in their exile.<br /><br />In <i>The Hare with Amber Eyes</i>, Edmund de Waal unfolds the story of a remarkable family and a tumultuous century. Sweeping yet intimate, it is a highly original meditation on art, history, and family, as elegant and precise as the netsuke themselves.</p>]]></book_description>
    <book id="7821828">
      <num_pages>368</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Edmund de Waal</author_name>
    <isbn>0374105979</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:11:42 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:11:38 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.96</average_rating>
    <book_published>2010</book_published>
    <description>
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      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7821828-the-hare-with-amber-eyes?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family&#39;s Century of Art and Loss" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316730175l/7821828._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Edmund de Waal<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.96<br/>
                                      book published: 2010<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176129399?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:10:19 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Outline</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176129399?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>21400742</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A woman writer goes to Athens in the height of summer to teach a writing course. Though her own circumstances remain indistinct, she becomes the audience to a chain of narratives, as the people she meets tell her one after another the stories of their lives.<br /><br />Beginning with the neighbouring passenger on the flight out and his tales of fast boats and failed marriages, the storytellers talk of their loves and ambitions and pains, their anxieties, their perceptions and daily lives. In the stifling heat and noise of the city the sequence of voice begins to weave a complex human tapestry. The more they talk the more elliptical their listener becomes, as she shapes and directs their accounts until certain themes begin to emerge: the experience of loss, the nature of family life, the difficulty of intimacy and the mystery of creativity itself.<br /><br /><i>Outline</i> is a novel about writing and talking, about self-effacement and self-expression, about the desire to create and the human art of self-portraiture in which that desire finds its universal form.]]></book_description>
    <book id="21400742">
      <num_pages>249</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Rachel Cusk</author_name>
    <isbn>0571233627</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:10:19 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:10:16 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.67</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Rachel Cusk<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.67<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176121902?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:05:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Argonauts</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176121902?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22929741</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family. <br /><br />Maggie Nelson's <i>The Argonauts</i> is a genre-bending memoir, a work of "autotheory" offering fresh, fierce, and timely thinking about desire, identity, and the limitations and possibilities of love and language. At its center is a romance: the story of the author's relationship with the artist Harry Dodge. This story, which includes Nelson's account of falling in love with Dodge, who is fluidly gendered, as well as her journey to and through a pregnancy, offers a firsthand account of the complexities and joys of (queer) family-making. <br /><br />Writing in the spirit of public intellectuals such as Susan Sontag and Roland Barthes, Nelson binds her personal experience to a rigorous exploration of what iconic theorists have said about sexuality, gender, and the vexed institutions of marriage and child-rearing. Nelson's insistence on radical individual freedom and the value of caretaking becomes the rallying cry of this thoughtful, unabashed, uncompromising book.]]></book_description>
    <book id="22929741">
      <num_pages>160</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Maggie Nelson</author_name>
    <isbn>1555977073</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:05:21 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:05:19 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.04</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22929741-the-argonauts?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Argonauts" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410981835l/22929741._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Maggie Nelson<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.04<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176119966?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:04:03 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Underground Railroad</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176119966?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>30555488</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood--where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned--Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.<br /><br />In Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor--engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city's placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.<br /><br />Like the protagonist of Gulliver's Travels, Cora encounters different worlds at each stage of her journey--hers is an odyssey through time as well as space. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.]]></book_description>
    <book id="30555488">
      <num_pages>306</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Colson Whitehead</author_name>
    <isbn>0385542364</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:04:03 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.04</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Colson Whitehead<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.04<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176115808?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:01:21 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Rapture</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176115808?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>409965</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Carol Ann Duffy's 'Rapture' is about the loss and rediscovery of love in all its aspects - erotic, intellectual, emotional.]]></book_description>
    <book id="409965">
      <num_pages>100</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Carol Ann Duffy</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 19:01:21 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.05</average_rating>
    <book_published>2005</book_published>
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                                      author: Carol Ann Duffy<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.05<br/>
                                      book published: 2005<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176113376?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:59:50 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Capital in the Twenty First Century]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4176113376?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>18736925</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In <em>Capital in the Twenty-First Century</em>, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.<br /><br />Piketty shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality—the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth—today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, Piketty says, and may do so again.]]></book_description>
    <book id="18736925">
      <num_pages>685</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Thomas Piketty</author_name>
    <isbn>067443000X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:59:50 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <average_rating>4.05</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
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                                      author: Thomas Piketty<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.05<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174526056?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:28:01 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Normal People</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174526056?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>41057294</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.<br /><br />A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.<br /><br />Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.]]></book_description>
    <book id="41057294">
      <num_pages>273</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Sally Rooney</author_name>
    <isbn>1984822179</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:28:01 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:27:59 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.81</average_rating>
    <book_published>2018</book_published>
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                                      author: Sally Rooney<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.81<br/>
                                      book published: 2018<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3894563555?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:26:04 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3894563555?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>13932</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[With uncommon humanity, candor, wit, and erudition, award-winning author Andrew Solomon takes the reader on a journey of incomparable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. His contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is truly stunning. <br /><br /><i>The Noonday Demon</i> examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policymakers and politicians, drug designers and philosophers, Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications, the efficacy of alternative treatments, and the impact the malady has had on various demographic populations around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by emerging biological explanations for mental illness. <br /><br />The depth of human experience Solomon chronicles, the range of his intelligence, and his boundless curiosity and compassion will change the reader's view of the world.]]></book_description>
    <book id="13932">
      <num_pages>576</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Andrew Solomon</author_name>
    <isbn>0684854678</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:26:04 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Mar 2021 04:23:30 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.17</average_rating>
    <book_published>2000</book_published>
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                                      author: Andrew Solomon<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.17<br/>
                                      book published: 2000<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174523068?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:24:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Tenth of December</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174523068?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>13641208</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[One of the most important and blazingly original writers of his generation, George Saunders is an undisputed master of the short story, and <i>Tenth of December</i> is his most honest, accessible, and moving collection yet.<br /><br />In the taut opening, "Victory Lap," a boy witnesses the attempted abduction of the girl next door and is faced with a harrowing choice: Does he ignore what he sees, or override years of smothering advice from his parents and act? In "Home," a combat-damaged soldier moves back in with his mother and struggles to reconcile the world he left with the one to which he has returned. And in the title story, a stunning meditation on imagination, memory, and loss, a middle-aged cancer patient walks into the woods to commit suicide, only to encounter a troubled young boy who, over the course of a fateful morning, gives the dying man a final chance to recall who he really is. A hapless, deluded owner of an antique store; two mothers struggling to do the right thing; a teenage girl whose idealism is challenged by a brutal brush with reality; a man tormented by a series of pharmaceutical experiments that force him to lust, to love, to kill—the unforgettable characters that populate the pages of <i>Tenth of December</i> are vividly and lovingly infused with Saunders' signature blend of exuberant prose, deep humanity, and stylistic innovation.<br /><br />Writing brilliantly and profoundly about class, sex, love, loss, work, despair, and war, Saunders cuts to the core of the contemporary experience. These stories take on the big questions and explore the fault lines of our own morality, delving into the questions of what makes us good and what makes us human.<br /><br />Unsettling, insightful, and hilarious, the stories in <i>Tenth of December</i>—through their manic energy, their focus on what is redeemable in human beings, and their generosity of spirit—not only entertain and delight; they fulfill Chekhov's dictum that art should "prepare us for tenderness."]]></book_description>
    <book id="13641208">
      <num_pages>251</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>George Saunders</author_name>
    <isbn>0812993802</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:24:47 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.98</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
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                                      author: George Saunders<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.98<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174522689?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:24:20 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174522689?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>15790842</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[What if you could live again and again, until you got it right? <br /><br />On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. <br /><br />Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can - will she?]]></book_description>
    <book id="15790842">
      <num_pages>544</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Kate Atkinson</author_name>
    <isbn>0316176486</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:24:20 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:24:18 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
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                                      author: Kate Atkinson<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.76<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174521617?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:23:06 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174521617?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>1237300</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[In her ground-breaking reporting from Iraq, Naomi Klein exposed how the trauma of invasion was being exploited to remake the country in the interest of foreign corporations. She called it "disaster capitalism." Covering Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami, and New Orleans post-Katrina, she witnessed something remarkably similar. People still reeling from catastrophe were being hit again, this time with economic "shock treatment" losing their land and homes to rapid-fire corporate makeovers. <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> retells the story of the most dominant ideology of our time, Milton Friedman's free market economic revolution. In contrast to the popular myth of this movement's peaceful global victory, Klein shows how it has exploited moments of shock and extreme violence in order to implement its economic policies in so many parts of the world from Latin America and Eastern Europe to South Africa, Russia, and Iraq. At the core of disaster capitalism is the use of cataclysmic events to advance radical privatization combined with the privatization of the disaster response itself. By capitalizing on crises, created by nature or war, Klein argues that the disaster capitalism complex now exists as a booming new economy, and is the violent culmination of a radical economic project that has been incubating for fifty years.]]></book_description>
    <book id="1237300">
      <num_pages>558</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Naomi Klein</author_name>
    <isbn>0805079831</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:23:06 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
    <book_published>2007</book_published>
    <description>
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                                      author: Naomi Klein<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.30<br/>
                                      book published: 2007<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174520059?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:22:17 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174520059?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17910054</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. <br /><br />In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, <i>The New Yorker</i> writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17910054">
      <num_pages>336</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Elizabeth Kolbert</author_name>
    <isbn>0805092994</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:22:17 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:21:25 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.12</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
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                                      author: Elizabeth Kolbert<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.12<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174516870?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:17:55 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174516870?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>1869</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[The New York Times bestseller, and one of the most talked about books of the year, Nickel and Dimed has already become a classic of undercover reportage.<br /><br />Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.<br /><br />Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.]]></book_description>
    <book id="1869">
      <num_pages>240</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Barbara Ehrenreich</author_name>
    <isbn>0805063897</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:17:55 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:17:54 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>novels-to-buy, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.65</average_rating>
    <book_published>2001</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1869.Nickel_and_Dimed?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442378091l/1869._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Barbara Ehrenreich<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.65<br/>
                                      book published: 2001<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: novels-to-buy, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174516224?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:17:12 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Novels, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174516224?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>35036409</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Elena Ferrante's four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its main characters, the fiery and unforgettable Lila and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship. This first novel in the series follows Lila and Elena from their fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.<br /><br /><br />Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between two women.]]></book_description>
    <book id="35036409">
      <num_pages>331</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Elena Ferrante</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:17:12 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:17:09 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.08</average_rating>
    <book_published>2011</book_published>
    <description>
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                                      author: Elena Ferrante<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.08<br/>
                                      book published: 2011<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:16:46 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Cloud Atlas</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2382463297?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>49628</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A postmodern visionary who is also a master of styles of genres, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian lore of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco, Haruki Murakami, and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction as profund as it is playful. Now in his new novel, David Mitchell explores with daring artistry fundamental questions of reality and identity. <br /><br /><i>Cloud Atlas</i> begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . . <br /><br />Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter. . . . From there we jump to the West Coast in the 1970s and a troubled reporter named Luisa Rey, who stumbles upon a web of corporate greed and murder that threatens to claim her life. . . . And onward, with dazzling virtuosity, to an inglorious present-day England; to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok; and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history. <br /><br />But the story doesn't end even there. The narrative then boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky. <br /><br />As wild as a videogame, as mysterious as a Zen koan, <i>Cloud Atlas</i> is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.]]></book_description>
    <book id="49628">
      <num_pages>509</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>David  Mitchell</author_name>
    <isbn>0375507256</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:16:46 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 05 May 2018 04:37:43 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
    <book_published>2004</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49628.Cloud_Atlas?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Cloud Atlas" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563042852l/49628._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: David  Mitchell<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.02<br/>
                                      book published: 2004<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174515526?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:16:29 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Autumn (Seasonal Quartet, #1)</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174515526?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>28446947</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Autumn. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. That's what it felt like for Keats in 1819.<br /><br />How about Autumn 2016?</b><br /><br />Daniel is a century old. Elisabeth, born in 1984, has her eye on the future. The United Kingdom is in pieces, divided by a historic once-in-a-generation summer.<br /><br />Love is won, love is lost. Hope is hand in hand with hopelessness. The seasons roll round, as ever.<br /><br />Ali Smith's new novel is a meditation on a world growing ever more bordered and exclusive, on what richness and worth are, on what harvest means. This first in a seasonal quartet casts an eye over our own time. Who are we? What are we made of? Shakespearian jeu d'esprit, Keatsian melancholy, the sheer bright energy of 1960s Pop art: the centuries cast their eyes over our own history-making.<br /><br />Here's where we're living. Here's time at its most contemporaneous and its most cyclic.<br /><br />From the imagination of the peerless Ali Smith comes a shape-shifting series, wide-ranging in timescale and light-footed through histories, and a story about ageing and time and love and stories themselves.<br /><br />Here comes <i>Autumn</i>.]]></book_description>
    <book id="28446947">
      <num_pages>264</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ali Smith</author_name>
    <isbn>0241207002</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:16:29 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:16:26 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.66</average_rating>
    <book_published>2016</book_published>
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                                      author: Ali Smith<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.66<br/>
                                      book published: 2016<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174514890?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:15:49 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Between the World and Me</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174514890?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25489625</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.”</i><br /><b> </b><br />In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?<br />  <br /><i>Between the World and Me </i>is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, <i>Between the World and Me </i>clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.]]></book_description>
    <book id="25489625">
      <num_pages>152</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ta-Nehisi Coates</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:15:49 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:15:47 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.40</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25489625-between-the-world-and-me?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Between the World and Me" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451435027l/25489625._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ta-Nehisi Coates<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.40<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174513056?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:13:46 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Austerlitz</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174513056?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>88442</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<i>Austerlitz</i>, the internationally acclaimed masterpiece, is the story of a man’s search for the answer to his life’s central riddle. A small child when he comes to England on a Kindertransport in the summer of 1939, one Jacques Austerlitz is told nothing of his real family by the Welsh Methodist minister and his wife who raise him. When he is a much older man, the fleeting memories return to him, and obeying an instinct he only dimly understands, he follows their trail back to the world he left behind a half century before. There, faced with the void at the heart of twentieth-century Europe, he struggles to rescue his heritage from oblivion.]]></book_description>
    <book id="88442">
      <num_pages>415</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>W.G. Sebald</author_name>
    <isbn>0140297995</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:13:46 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:13:43 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.96</average_rating>
    <book_published>2001</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: W.G. Sebald<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.96<br/>
                                      book published: 2001<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2956912446?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:12:38 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Never Let Me Go</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2956912446?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>6334</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[As a child, Kathy – now thirty-one years old – lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.<br /><br />And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed – even comforted – by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham's nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood – and about their lives now.]]></book_description>
    <book id="6334">
      <num_pages>288</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Kazuo Ishiguro</author_name>
    <isbn>1400078776</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:12:38 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 29 Aug 2019 11:23:00 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.85</average_rating>
    <book_published>2005</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Kazuo Ishiguro<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.85<br/>
                                      book published: 2005<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174511653?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:12:17 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174511653?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>30200112</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[From the 2015 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Svetlana Alexievich, comes the first English translation of her latest work, an oral history of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a new Russia.<br /><br />Bringing together dozens of voices in her distinctive documentary style, <i>Secondhand Time</i> is a monument to the collapse of the USSR, charting the decline of Soviet culture and speculating on what will rise from the ashes of Communism.<br /><br />As in all her books, Alexievich gives voice to women and men whose stories are lost in the official narratives of nation-states, creating a powerful alternative history from the personal and private stories of individuals.]]></book_description>
    <book id="30200112">
      <num_pages>621</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Svetlana Alexievich</author_name>
    <isbn>1922253995</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:12:17 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:12:09 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.44</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30200112-secondhand-time?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463438551l/30200112._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Svetlana Alexievich<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.44<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174506400?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:06:14 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>The Goldfinch</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174506400?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>17333223</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014<br /><br />Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.<br /><br />The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.]]></book_description>
    <book id="17333223">
      <num_pages>771</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Donna Tartt</author_name>
    <isbn>0316055433</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:06:14 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:06:11 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.95</average_rating>
    <book_published>2013</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333223-the-goldfinch?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Goldfinch" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1378710146l/17333223._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Donna Tartt<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.95<br/>
                                      book published: 2013<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/14<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4162482463?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:43:15 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Principles: Life and Work</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4162482463?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>34536488</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.</b><br /><br />In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Forty years later, Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in history and grown into the fifth most important private company in the United States, according to <i>Fortune</i> magazine. Dalio himself has been named to <i>Time </i>magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Along the way, Dalio discovered a set of unique principles that have led to Bridgewater’s exceptionally effective culture, which he describes as “an idea meritocracy that strives to achieve meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical transparency.” It is these principles, and not anything special about Dalio—who grew up an ordinary kid in a middle-class Long Island neighborhood—that he believes are the reason behind his success.<br /><br />In <i>Principles, </i>Dalio shares what he’s learned over the course of his remarkable career. He argues that life, management, economics, and investing can all be systemized into rules and understood like machines. The book’s hundreds of practical lessons, which are built around his cornerstones of “radical truth” and “radical transparency,” include Dalio laying out the most effective ways for individuals and organizations to make decisions, approach challenges, and build strong teams. He also describes the innovative tools the firm uses to bring an idea meritocracy to life, such as creating “baseball cards” for all employees that distill their strengths and weaknesses, and employing computerized decision-making systems to make believability-weighted decisions. While the book brims with novel ideas for organizations and institutions, <i>Principles</i> also offers a clear, straightforward approach to decision-making that Dalio believes anyone can apply, no matter what they’re seeking to achieve.<br /><br />Here is a rare opportunity to gain proven advice unlike anything you’ll find in the conventional business press.]]></book_description>
    <book id="34536488">
      <num_pages>16</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ray Dalio</author_name>
    <isbn>1508243247</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:43:15 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:43:15 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
    <book_published>2017</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34536488-principles?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Principles: Life and Work" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503365703l/34536488._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Ray Dalio<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.07<br/>
                                      book published: 2017<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/08<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4162481303?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:42:37 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4162481303?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>25387895</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>From the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Mastermind</i>, a compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again</b><br /><br /> While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book.<br />  <br /> From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. <i>The Confidence Game</i> asks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us.]]></book_description>
    <book id="25387895">
      <num_pages>352</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Maria Konnikova</author_name>
    <isbn>0525427414</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:42:37 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:42:37 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>books-to-buy</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.61</average_rating>
    <book_published>2015</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25387895-the-confidence-game?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494595504l/25387895._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Maria Konnikova<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.61<br/>
                                      book published: 2015<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/08/08<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
    </description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3922402338?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 08 Aug 2021 08:41:11 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3922402338?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>43848929</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller <i>Outliers</i>, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers -- and why they often go wrong.</b><br /><br />How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true?<br /><br />While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you'll hear the voices of people he interviewed--scientists, criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these real-life tragedies. There's even a theme song - Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout."<br /><br />Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.]]></book_description>
    <book id="43848929">
      <num_pages>388</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Malcolm Gladwell</author_name>
    <isbn>0316478520</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_shelves>to-read, self-help</user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <book_published>2019</book_published>
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                                      author: Malcolm Gladwell<br/>
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                                      average rating: 4.00<br/>
                                      book published: 2019<br/>
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                                      read at: <br/>
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                                      shelves: to-read, self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144936648?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:10:16 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144936648?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>6315775</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[From a pioneer in the field of mental health comes a groundbreaking book on the healing power of "mindsight," the potent skill that is the basis for both emotional and social intelligence. <b>Mindsight </b>allows you to make positive changes in your brain-and in your life.- Is there a memory that torments you, or an irrational fear you can' t shake?- Do you sometimes become unreasonably angry or upset and find it hard to calm down?- Do you ever wonder why you can't stop behaving the way you do, no matter how hard you try?- Are you and your child (or parent, partner, or boss) locked in a seemingly inevitable pattern of conflict? What if you could escape traps like these and live a fuller, richer, happier life? This isn't mere speculation but the result of twenty-five years of careful hands-on clinical work by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. A Harvard-trained physician, Dr. Siegel is one of the revolutionary global innovators in the integration of brain science into the practice of psychotherapy. Using case histories from his practice, he shows how, by following the proper steps, nearly everyone can learn how to focus their attention on the internal world of the mind in a way that will literally change the wiring and architecture of their brain. Through his synthesis of a broad range of scientific research with applications to everyday life, Dr. Siegel has developed novel approaches that have helped hundreds of patients heal themselves from painful events in the past and liberate themselves from obstacles blocking their happiness in the present. And now he has written the first book that will help all of us understand the potential we have to create our own lives. Showing us mindsight in action, Dr. Siegel describes- a sixteen-year-old boy with bipolar disorder who uses meditation and other techniques instead of drugs to calm the emotional storms that made him suicidal- a woman paralyzed by anxiety, who uses mindsight to discover, in an unconscious memory of a childhood accident, the source of her dread- a physician-the author himself-who pays attention to his intuition, which he experiences as a "vague, uneasy feeling in my belly, a gnawing restlessness in my heart and my gut," and tracks down a patient who could have gone deaf because of an inaccurately written prescription for an ear infection- a twelve-year-old girl with OCD who learns a meditation that is "like watching myself from outside myself" and, using a form of internal dialogue, is able to stop the compulsive behaviors that have been tormenting her These and many other extraordinary stories illustrate how mindsight can help us master our emotions, heal our relationships, and reach our fullest potential. A book as inspiring as it is informative, as practical as it is profound, <b>Mindsight</b> offers exciting new proof that we aren't hardwired to behave in certain ways, but instead have the ability to harness the power of our minds to resculpt the neural pathways of our brains in ways that will be life-transforming.]]></book_description>
    <book id="6315775">
      <num_pages>336</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Daniel J. Siegel</author_name>
    <isbn>0553804707</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:10:16 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:10:15 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
    <book_published>2009</book_published>
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                                      author: Daniel J. Siegel<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.11<br/>
                                      book published: 2009<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/30<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help<br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:09:59 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Whole-Brain Child: Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144936202?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>10353369</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Your toddler throws a tantrum in the middle of a store. Your preschooler refuses to get dressed. Your fifth-grader sulks on the bench instead of playing on the field. Do children conspire to make their parents’ lives endlessly challenging? No—it’s just their developing brain calling the shots!<br /><br />In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling <i>Mindsight</i>, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson demystify the meltdowns and aggravation, explaining the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids can seem—and feel—so out of control. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth. Raise calmer, happier children using twelve key strategies, including<br /> <br />• <b>Name It to Tame It: </b>Corral raging right-brain behavior through left-brain storytelling, appealing to the left brain’s affinity for words and reasoning to calm emotional storms and bodily tension.<br />• <b>Engage, Don’t Enrage: </b>Keep your child thinking and listening, instead of purely reacting.<br />• <b>Move It or Lose It: </b>Use physical activities to shift your child’s emotional state.<br />• <b>Let the Clouds of Emotion Roll By: </b>Guide your children when they are stuck on a negative emotion, and help them understand that feelings come and go.<br />• <b>SIFT: </b>Help children pay attention to the Sensations, Images, Feelings, and Thoughts within them so that they can make better decisions and be more flexible.<br />• <b>Connect Through Conflict: </b>Use discord to encourage empathy and greater social success.<br /> <br />Complete with clear explanations, age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles, and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, <i>The Whole-Brain Child</i> shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives.]]></book_description>
    <book id="10353369">
      <num_pages>192</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Daniel J. Siegel</author_name>
    <isbn>0553807919</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:09:59 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>books-to-buy, to-read</user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>4.25</average_rating>
    <book_published>2011</book_published>
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                                      author: Daniel J. Siegel<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.25<br/>
                                      book published: 2011<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/30<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:07:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Procrastination Cure: 21 Proven Tactics For Conquering Your Inner Procrastinator, Mastering Your Time, And Boosting Your Productivity!]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144933290?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>35180801</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Learn How To Take Quick Action, Make Fast Decisions, And Get More Done In Less Time! Do you regularly procrastinate? Do you <b>often struggle to get started on important projects</b>? Do you allow tasks to pile up until they make you feel stressed and overwhelmed? If so, there's a simple <b>THE PROCRASTINATION CURE</b>. Imagine looking at your to-do list and immediately tackling, completing, and crossing off tasks. Imagine making quick decisions regarding which projects receive your immediate attention. Imagine finishing your work each day with hours to spare! <b>Amazon bestselling author</b>, Damon Zahariades, provides a start-to-finish blueprint for beating your inner procrastinator. He'll show you, step by step, how to overcome your tendency to put off important chores, projects, and activities, and consistently take action that <b>catapults your productivity</b>. You'll receive more than 21 proven tactics for conquering your impulse to procrastinate. You'll also learn the REASONS you procrastinate, along with actionable advice on how to nip them in the bud. In <b>THE PROCRASTINATION CURE</b>, you'll The 13 most common reasons people postpone taking action Why your to-do list might be encouraging you to procrastinate (and what to do about it) How to create an action-prompting reward system tailored to your personal proclivities 4 easy tips for silencing your inner perfectionist and getting to work Surprising advice from Mark Twain on how to beat procrastination The one decision that'll spur you to take action and complete tasks in record time The power of accountability (and how to find the perfect partner) How to prioritize tasks and projects according to your personal goals A 3-step system for tracking your energy levels, and using the data to maximize your productivity How to use Time Chunking to tackle large, daunting projects One of the most common forms of self-sabotage (and how to avoid it) How to muzzle your inner critic and eliminate negative self-talk A curious strategy novelist Victor Hugo successfully used to tame his inner procrastinator And much, much more! Plus, you'll receive 3 <b>BONUS</b> tactics, each of which will prove instrumental in overcoming your inner procrastinator. There's also a <b>BONUS SECTION</b> that includes detailed answers to common questions asked about how to curb the procrastination habit. <b>THE PROCRASTINATION CURE</b> is for anyone who struggles to take action. Whether you're a student, corporate executive, entrepreneur, or stay-at-home parent, the tactics described in this book can set the stage for a personal transformation. Grab your copy of <b>THE PROCRASTINATION CURE</b> today to finally conquer your inner procrastinator and get to work on tasks and projects you're tempted to put off until later! This how-to guide is written in the great self-help, personal development tradition of Cal Newport, David Allen, and S.J. Scott. Scroll to the top of the page and click the "BUY NOW" button!]]></book_description>
    <book id="35180801">
      <num_pages>166</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Damon Zahariades</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:07:47 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.15</average_rating>
    <book_published></book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Damon Zahariades<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.15<br/>
                                      book published: <br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/30<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144931818?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:06:41 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144931818?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>26324</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[<b>Emotional Intelligence</b> was an international phenomenon, appearing on the<i> New York Times</i> bestseller list for over a year and selling more than five million copies worldwide. Now, once again, Daniel Goleman has written a groundbreaking synthesis of the latest findings in biology and brain science, revealing that we are “wired to connect” and the surprisingly deep impact of our relationships on every aspect of our lives.<br /><br />Far more than we are consciously aware, our daily encounters with parents, spouses, bosses, and even strangers shape our brains and affect cells throughout our bodies—down to the level of our genes—for good or ill. In <b>Social Intelligence</b>, Daniel Goleman explores an emerging new science with startling implications for our interpersonal world. Its most fundamental discovery: we are designed for sociability, constantly engaged in a “neural ballet” that connects us brain to brain with those around us.<br /><br />Our reactions to others, and theirs to us, have a far-reaching biological impact, sending out cascades of hormones that regulate everything from our hearts to our immune systems, making good relationships act like vitamins—and bad relationships like poisons. We can “catch” other people’s emotions the way we catch a cold, and the consequences of isolation or relentless social stress can be life-shortening. Goleman explains the surprising accuracy of first impressions, the basis of charisma and emotional power, the complexity of sexual attraction, and how we detect lies. He describes the “dark side” of social intelligence, from narcissism to Machiavellianism and psychopathy. He also reveals our astonishing capacity for “mindsight,” as well as the tragedy of those, like autistic children, whose mindsight is impaired.<br /><br />Is there a way to raise our children to be happy? What is the basis of a nourishing marriage? How can business leaders and teachers inspire the best in those they lead and teach? How can groups divided by prejudice and hatred come to live together in peace? <br /><br />The answers to these questions may not be as elusive as we once thought. And Goleman delivers his most heartening news with powerful conviction: we humans have a built-in bias toward empathy, cooperation, and altruism–provided we develop the social intelligence to nurture these capacities in ourselves and others.<br /><br /><br /><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i>]]></book_description>
    <book id="26324">
      <num_pages>416</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Daniel Goleman</author_name>
    <isbn>0553803522</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:06:41 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:06:41 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>self-help</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <book_published>2006</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26324.Social_Intelligence?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441586645l/26324._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Daniel Goleman<br/>
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                                      average rating: 4.00<br/>
                                      book published: 2006<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/30<br/>
                                      shelves: self-help<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144928967?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:04:26 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4144928967?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>22733729</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.<br /><br />Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.<br /><br />Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.]]></book_description>
    <book id="22733729">
      <num_pages>518</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Becky Chambers</author_name>
    <isbn>1500453307</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:04:26 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>novels-to-buy</user_shelves>
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    <average_rating>4.14</average_rating>
    <book_published>2014</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22733729-the-long-way-to-a-small-angry-planet?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474l/22733729._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Becky Chambers<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.14<br/>
                                      book published: 2014<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/30<br/>
                                      shelves: novels-to-buy<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Jul 2021 07:03:36 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4095883648?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>389921</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Most of us look at our days in the wrong way: We exaggerate yesterday. We overestimate tomorrow. We underestimate today. The truth is that the most important day you will ever experience is today. Today is the key to your success. Maxwell offers 12 decisions and disciplines-he calls it his daily dozen-that can be learned and mastered by any person to achieve success.]]></book_description>
    <book id="389921">
      <num_pages>313</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>John C. Maxwell</author_name>
    <isbn>1931722528</isbn>
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                                      author: John C. Maxwell<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.20<br/>
                                      book published: <br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/11<br/>
                                      shelves: books-to-buy, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Jul 2021 07:03:07 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Letters of Vincent van Gogh]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103555398?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>395233</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A new selection of post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gough's letters,<i> The Letters of Vincent van Gogh </i>put a human face on one of the most haunting figures in modern Western culture. In this Penguin Classics edition, the letters are selected and edited by Ronald de Leeuw, and translated by Arnold Pomerans in Penguin Classics.<br /><br />Few artists' letters are as self-revelatory as Vincent van Gogh's, and this selection, spanning his artistic career, sheds light on every facet of the life and work of this complex and tortured man. Engaging candidly and movingly with his religious struggles, his ill-fated search for love, his attacks of mental illness and his relation with his brother Theo, the letters contradict the popular myth of van Gogh as an anti-social madman and a martyr to art, showing instead a man of great emotional and spiritual depths. Above all, they stand as an intense personal narrative of artistic development and a unique account of the process of creation.<br /><br />The letters are linked by explanatory biographical passages, revealing van Gogh's inner journey as well as the outer facts of his life. This edition also includes the drawings that originally illustrated the letters.<br /><br />Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Holland. In 1885 he painted his first masterpiece, <i>The Potato Eaters, </i>a haunting scene of domestic poverty. A year later he began studying in Paris, where he met Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Seurat, who became very important influences on his work. In 1888 he left Paris for the Provencal landscape at Arles, the subject of many of his best works, including <i>Sunflowers</i>.<br /><br />If you enjoyed <i>The Letters of Vincent van Gogh</i>, you might also like <i>100 Artists Manifestos</i>, available in Penguin Modern Classics.<br /><br />'If there was ever any doubt that Van Gogh's letters belong beside those great classics of artistic self-revelation, Cellini's autobiography and Delacroix's journal, this excellent new edition dispels it'<br /><i>The Times</i>]]></book_description>
    <book id="395233">
      <num_pages>528</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Vincent van Gogh</author_name>
    <isbn>0140446745</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Jul 2021 07:03:07 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:54:59 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>biography-memoirs, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.08</average_rating>
    <book_published>1914</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/395233.The_Letters_of_Vincent_van_Gogh?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="The Letters of Vincent van Gogh" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657544597l/395233._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Vincent van Gogh<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.08<br/>
                                      book published: 1914<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/11<br/>
                                      shelves: biography-memoirs, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103545787?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Jul 2021 07:02:56 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103545787?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>42547</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[This definitive box set includes all the landmark speeches of the great orator and American leader Martin Luther King, Jr., from his inspirational "I Have a Dream" to his firey "Give Us the Ballot." Comprised of recordings previously included in <i>A Call to Conscience </i>and <i>A Knock at Midnight, </i>THE ESSENTIAL BOX SET is a must-have for any home, library, or school collection.<br />]]></book_description>
    <book id="42547">
      <num_pages>400</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Martin Luther King Jr.</author_name>
    <isbn>0446676500</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Sun, 11 Jul 2021 07:02:56 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:49:12 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>biography-memoirs, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.33</average_rating>
    <book_published>1986</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Martin Luther King Jr.<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.33<br/>
                                      book published: 1986<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/11<br/>
                                      shelves: biography-memoirs, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103634049?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:46:52 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title><![CDATA[Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103634049?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>126711</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[As the day for Lincoln's second inauguration drew near, Americans wondered what their sixteenth president would say about the Civil War. Would Lincoln guide the nation toward "Reconstruction"? What about the slaves? They had been emancipated, but what about the matter of suffrage? When Lincoln finally stood before his fellow countrymen on March 4, 1865, and had only 703 words to share, the American public was stunned. The President had not offered the North a victory speech, nor did he excoriate the South for the sin of slavery. Instead, he called the whole country guilty of the sin and pleaded for reconciliation and unity.In this compelling account, noted historian Ronald C. White Jr. shows how Lincoln's speech was initially greeted with confusion and hostility by many in the Union; commended by the legions of African Americans in attendance, abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass among them; and ultimately appropriated by his assassin John Wilkes Booth forty-one days later.<br /><br />Filled with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, "Lincoln's Greatest Speech" is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius.]]></book_description>
    <book id="126711">
      <num_pages>256</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Ronald C. White Jr.</author_name>
    <isbn>0743212991</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:46:52 -0700]]></user_date_added>
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    <user_shelves>to-read, biography-memoirs</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.13</average_rating>
    <book_published>2002</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
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                                      author: Ronald C. White Jr.<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.13<br/>
                                      book published: 2002<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/08<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, biography-memoirs<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103552840?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:10:47 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Lincoln</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103552840?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>106590</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, <i>Lincoln</i> is a stunning portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency.<br /><br />Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln’s character, chronicling his tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possible for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the country out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union—in short, one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen.]]></book_description>
    <book id="106590">
      <num_pages>714</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>David Herbert Donald</author_name>
    <isbn>068482535X</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:10:47 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:53:25 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>biography-memoirs, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.19</average_rating>
    <book_published>1995</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106590.Lincoln?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Lincoln" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543429790l/106590._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: David Herbert Donald<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.19<br/>
                                      book published: 1995<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/08<br/>
                                      shelves: biography-memoirs, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3921796013?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:07:35 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Mein Kampf</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3921796013?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>54270</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Mi lucha, con título original en alemán Mein Kampf, es un libro escrito por Adolf Hitler en el que plasmó su ideología y el manifiesto de la política del nacionalsocialismo entremezclado con una serie de elementos autobiográficos.<br /><br />El libro es un documento interesante ya que describe cómo y por qué Hitler, el dictador de la Alemania nazi de 1933 a 1945, se volvió antisemita, además de detallar sus planes futuros para Alemania.<br /><br />Mein Kampf fue publicado en 1925, tras la etapa en prisión de Hitler tras su golpe de Estado fallido en Múnich en 1923.<br /><br />A grandes rasgos, expone el programa ideológico de Hitler, en el cual identifica a los judíos y a los «bolcheviques» como racial e ideológicamente inferiores y un peligro para la nación. Por el contrario, establece a los «arios» y a los nacionalsocialistas como racialmente superiores y políticamente progresistas.<br /><br />El gran objetivo de Hitler era la unificación de los pueblos alemanes en una sola Gran Alemania y la expulsión de los judíos de la nación.<br /><br />Desde Elejandría, aunque sabemos que es una obra polémica y controvertida, optamos por mantener este libro en el catálogo ya que es un documento histórico y creemos que la historia hay que conocerla para que no se vuelva a repetir.]]></book_description>
    <book id="54270">
      <num_pages>384</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Adolf Hitler</author_name>
    <isbn>0395083621</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:07:35 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 01 Apr 2021 22:22:46 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, biography-memoirs</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>3.15</average_rating>
    <book_published>1925</book_published>
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      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54270.Mein_Kampf?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Mein Kampf" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1395618385l/54270._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Adolf Hitler<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 3.15<br/>
                                      book published: 1925<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/08<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, biography-memoirs<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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    <guid><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103553098?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></guid>
    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:54:08 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Gandhi: An Autobiography</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103553098?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>112803</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.<br /><br />In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of testing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances," in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities. <br /><br />All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.]]></book_description>
    <book id="112803">
      <num_pages>528</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Mahatma Gandhi</author_name>
    <isbn></isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
    <user_read_at></user_read_at>
    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:54:08 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:53:34 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>biography-memoirs, to-read</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.13</average_rating>
    <book_published>1927</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112803.Gandhi?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Gandhi: An Autobiography" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320560971l/112803._SX50_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Mahatma Gandhi<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.13<br/>
                                      book published: 1927<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/08<br/>
                                      shelves: biography-memoirs, to-read<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
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    <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:52:01 -0700]]></pubDate>
    <title>Long Walk to Freedom</title>
    <link><![CDATA[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3921784298?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss]]></link>
    <book_id>318431</book_id>
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    <book_description><![CDATA[Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. <br /><br />Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality. <br /><br />The foster son of a Thembu chief, Mandela was raised in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors, but at an early age learned the modern, inescapable reality of what came to be called apartheid, one of the most powerful and effective systems of oppression ever conceived. In classically elegant and engrossing prose, he tells of his early years as an impoverished student and law clerk in a Jewish firm in Johannesburg, of his slow political awakening, and of his pivotal role in the rebirth of a stagnant ANC and the formation of its Youth League in the 1950s. <br /><br />He describes the struggle to reconcile his political activity with his devotion to his family, the anguished breakup of his first marriage, and the painful separations from his children. He brings vividly to life the escalating political warfare in the fifties between the ANC and the government, culminating in his dramatic escapades as an underground leader and the notorious Rivonia Trial of 1964, at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Herecounts the surprisingly eventful twenty-seven years in prison and the complex, delicate negotiations that led both to his freedom and to the beginning of the end of apartheid. Finally he provides the ultimate inside account.]]></book_description>
    <book id="318431">
      <num_pages>656</num_pages>
    </book>
    <author_name>Nelson Mandela</author_name>
    <isbn>0316548189</isbn>
    <user_name>Mir</user_name>
    <user_rating>0</user_rating>
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    <user_date_added><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jul 2021 19:52:01 -0700]]></user_date_added>
    <user_date_created><![CDATA[Thu, 01 Apr 2021 22:11:28 -0700]]></user_date_created>
    <user_shelves>to-read, biography-memoirs</user_shelves>
    <user_review></user_review>
    <average_rating>4.35</average_rating>
    <book_published>1991</book_published>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/318431.Long_Walk_to_Freedom?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=rss"><img alt="Long Walk to Freedom" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327997342l/318431._SY75_.jpg" /></a><br/>
                                      author: Nelson Mandela<br/>
                                      name: Mir<br/>
                                      average rating: 4.35<br/>
                                      book published: 1991<br/>
                                      rating: 0<br/>
                                      read at: <br/>
                                      date added: 2021/07/08<br/>
                                      shelves: to-read, biography-memoirs<br/>
                                      review: <br/><br/>
                                      ]]>
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