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    <title>Mariana's Updates</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Recent updates from Mariana]]></description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2026 21:23:30 -0700</lastBuildDate>
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      <pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2026 21:23:30 -0700</pubDate>
      
    <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana is currently reading 'A Game of Thrones']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8944184983</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/13496.A_Game_of_Thrones"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin" title="A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562726234l/13496._SY75_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana is currently reading <a only_path="false" class="bookTitle" href="/book/show/13496.A_Game_of_Thrones">A Game of Thrones</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a only_path="false" class="authorName" href="/author/show/346732.George_R_R_Martin">George R.R. Martin</a>
      <br/>
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">ReadStatus11301043165</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 10:11:51 -0700</pubDate>
      
    <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana is currently reading 'The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8884764927</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/77777612-the-leadership-challenge"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes" title="The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673735813l/77777612._SX50_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana is currently reading <a only_path="false" class="bookTitle" href="/book/show/77777612-the-leadership-challenge">The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a only_path="false" class="authorName" href="/author/show/827.James_M_Kouzes">James M. Kouzes</a>
      <br/>
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">Review7852424783</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:06:21 -0700</pubDate>
          <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana added 'The Godfather']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7852424783</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/22034.The_Godfather"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="The Godfather by Mario Puzo" title="The Godfather by Mario Puzo" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394988109l/22034._SY75_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana gave 5 stars to <a class="bookTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22034.The_Godfather">The Godfather (The Godfather, #1)</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a class="authorName" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12605.Mario_Puzo">Mario Puzo</a>
      <br/>
        <span class="userReview">bookshelves: </span>
    <a class="actionLinkLite" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/140143332-mariana-ballesteros?tag=favorites">favorites</a>
  <br/>


        
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">ReadStatus11194532418</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:40:16 -0700</pubDate>
      
    <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana wants to read 'The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8809703808</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/13166586-the-fish-that-ate-the-whale"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen" title="The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327473440l/13166586._SX50_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana wants to read <a only_path="false" class="bookTitle" href="/book/show/13166586-the-fish-that-ate-the-whale">The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America&#39;s Banana King</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a only_path="false" class="authorName" href="/author/show/16283.Rich_Cohen">Rich Cohen</a>
      <br/>
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">Review8712165018</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 23:30:39 -0700</pubDate>
          <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana added 'Martyr!']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8712165018</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/139400713-martyr"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar" title="Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683818219l/139400713._SX50_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana gave 4 stars to <a class="bookTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/139400713-martyr">Martyr! (Hardcover)</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a class="authorName" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15957484.Kaveh_Akbar">Kaveh Akbar</a>
      <br/>
      

        The confusion of sobriety, queerness, life without a mother. 
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">ReadStatus11029475434</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:37:48 -0700</pubDate>
      
    <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana wants to read 'The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8694176363</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/49172.The_Four_Obsessions_of_an_Extraordinary_Executive"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni" title="The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348094205l/49172._SX50_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana wants to read <a only_path="false" class="bookTitle" href="/book/show/49172.The_Four_Obsessions_of_an_Extraordinary_Executive">The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a only_path="false" class="authorName" href="/author/show/11503.Patrick_Lencioni">Patrick Lencioni</a>
      <br/>
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">ReadStatus11012144349</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:43:37 -0700</pubDate>
      
    <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana is currently reading 'Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8682008361</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/7697.Persian_Mirrors"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="Persian Mirrors by Elaine Sciolino" title="Persian Mirrors by Elaine Sciolino" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348248477l/7697._SY75_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana is currently reading <a only_path="false" class="bookTitle" href="/book/show/7697.Persian_Mirrors">Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a only_path="false" class="authorName" href="/author/show/5212.Elaine_Sciolino">Elaine Sciolino</a>
      <br/>
      ]]>
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      <guid isPermaLink="false">Review8677943271</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:49:18 -0700</pubDate>
          <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana added 'Learning To Be Me']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8677943271</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/60803485-learning-to-be-me"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="Learning To Be Me by Greg Egan" title="Learning To Be Me by Greg Egan" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649811234l/60803485._SX50_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana gave 5 stars to <a class="bookTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60803485-learning-to-be-me">Learning To Be Me (Unknown Binding)</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a class="authorName" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32699.Greg_Egan">Greg Egan</a>
      <br/>
        <span class="userReview">bookshelves: </span>
    <a class="actionLinkLite" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/140143332-mariana-ballesteros?tag=favorites">favorites</a>
  <br/>


        Remains relevant in the age of AI. 
      ]]>
    </description>


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    <item>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">ReadStatus11005046688</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 22:46:57 -0700</pubDate>
      
    <title>
      <![CDATA[Mariana has read 'One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World']]>
    </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8677067942</link>
    <description>
      <![CDATA[
      <a href="/book/show/60321431-one-hundred-saturdays"><img align="right" hspace="10" alt="One Hundred Saturdays by Michael Frank" title="One Hundred Saturdays by Michael Frank" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662304924l/60321431._SY75_.jpg" /></a>
      Mariana has read <a only_path="false" class="bookTitle" href="/book/show/60321431-one-hundred-saturdays">One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World</a>
      <span class="by">by</span>
      <a only_path="false" class="authorName" href="/author/show/161039.Michael_Frank">Michael Frank</a>
      <br/>
      ]]>
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      <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 16:17:22 -0700</pubDate>
      
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Mariana Ballesteros liked a quote by Paulo Coelho]]>
  </title>
  <link>https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/37947</link>
  <description>
  <![CDATA[
  <table>
    <tr><td>
        <td valign="top" colspan="2">
  <div class="updateAction">
    <strong><a href="/user/show/140143332-mariana-ballesteros">Mariana Ballesteros</a></strong>
    liked
     a <a href="/quotes/37947-it-was-the-pure-language-of-the-world-it-required">quote</a>
  </div>
  <div class='quoteUpdateBody'>
      <a class="updateImage" href="/work/quotes/4835472-alquimista"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483412266l/865._SX98_.jpg" alt="865. sx98 " /></a>
    <div class=&quot;updateBodyAfterImage&quot;>
      <span class="quoteText">“
<span id="freeTextContainer4879650007870670395">It was the pure Language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. He was more certain of it than of anything in the world. He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed. But maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language. Because, when you know that language, it&apos;s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it&apos;s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a</span>
  <span id="freeText4879650007870670395" style="display:none">It was the pure Language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. He was more certain of it than of anything in the world. He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed. But maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language. Because, when you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning.</span>
  <a data-text-id="4879650007870670395" href="#" onclick="swapContent($(this));; return false;">...more</a>
”</span>
      —
        <a href="/author/quotes/566.Paulo_Coelho">Paulo Coelho</a>
    </div>
  </div>
</td>
  </td></tr></table>
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