DistinguishedGhost commented on helli's update
DistinguishedGhost commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Who is your go to author? They never let you down and you find yourself often saving there books for a time when you might need them or even find yourself rereading them. For me it was Terry Pratchett for years but now I have read all but one book I am retiring him as my go to. I think for the next few years I am going to switch it to Charles Dickens. I have enjoyed every Dickens book I have read and I think I would like to work my way through the rest of his novels. I have other authors that I really love but I am all caught up on them.
DistinguishedGhost commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Can all of u recommend me the best thrillers u ever read. I need a thriller that is so hard to put down and has a really good plot :)
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Winter 2026 Readalong
Read at least 1 book in the Winter 2026 Readalong.
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DistinguishedGhost commented on a post from the Founder Announcements forum
Hi everyone, we're excited to share the 4 selections for the Spring Readalong, running March - May! We announce Readalong titles a month in advance to give everyone time to place library holds; head to the Seasonal Readalong page to see the Spring badge and the full selections (on the app: click Seasonal Readalong from the More menu. On desktop: click the purple "View Spring Picks" button underneath the "Winter 2026 Readalong" header).
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby: A mystery/thriller by the iconic S.A. Cosby, this story follows a Black and white father seeking vengeance for their two sons who were married and murdered in cold blood.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlà Clark: A steampunk fantasy set in Cairo in 1912, we follow Agent Fatma as she investigates a murder in a secret brotherhood and an ancient magic unleashing danger on the city.
When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill: A sapphic literary fiction set in 19th century Montreal, this is a coming of age tale following Marie and Sadie as they navigate their intense & passionate relationship through Montreal's high society (and brothels)
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel: From the author of Kaikeyi, this is a reimagining of the story of Hindu goddess Ganga who is cursed to become mortal until she fulfills the terms of her curse.
Excited to read with everyone in the coming months!
Happy reading, Jennifer & Lucy
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SCP Containment Breach
The SCP is an organization that Secures, Contains, and Protects our world against anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena. Be advised: these books contain such SCPs that have escaped confinement and have caused havoc and destruction. Read at your own peril. And remember to document your findings.
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DistinguishedGhost commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
i'm intrigued - does anyone else have a classic (or just super popular) book that they think is sort of underrated? like a book that is well-known and well-respected, but isn't getting its due for the right reasons? or a book with a reputation that makes people less likely to read it?
for me, i think the handmaid's tale gets the right amount of credit for worldbuilding/speculative work, but i've never seen much appreciation for atwood's narration itself, especially her depiction of re-living trauma. also, i was taught othello in school as important for its discussion of gender and race. all true, but i've seen lots of people go in thinking it's quite serious, and totally missing all of the jokes (which is half the point)
would love to hear new perspectives on old favourites!
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SCP Containment Breach
The SCP is an organization that Secures, Contains, and Protects our world against anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena. Be advised: these books contain such SCPs that have escaped confinement and have caused havoc and destruction. Read at your own peril. And remember to document your findings.
11






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Kingsbane (Empirium, #2)
Claire Legrand
DistinguishedGhost commented on MilaOnMain's review of Black Cake
Black Cake would have been a great book if it was written by someone else entirely. The story itself is excellent. It spans from the early 60s to the present across the Caribbean, Britain, and America through multiple generations. I was fascinated by the history woven throughoutâthe complexity of identity across cultures and decades, the weight of secrets carried through generations. The questions about generational trauma and what we inherit from our parents beyond just recipes and traditions is what kept me invested.
But the execution undermines the story. The writing is elementary. I donât mean that as a cheap shot. The prose is genuinely simplistic and felt unfinished. Sentences didnât flow, transitions were awkward, and it tells you whatâs happening without making you feel it. Worse are the short chapters that fragment the narrative just as scenes start building emotional weight. Some chapters are literally two paragraphs. I was never allowed to sit with anything long enough to really connect. The structure works against the story instead of supporting it. Thereâs also just too much. Too many perspectives, too many timelines, too much information crammed in without space to breathe.
The decision to make the Caribbean island unnamed is baffling. Wilkerson clearly means Jamaica (subtly implied plus she admits this in the authorâs note) but refuses to engage with its distinct colonial history or postcolonial dynamics. The Caribbean isnât a monolith. Each island has its own culture and politics, and erasing that doesnât make the book universal, it makes it obscure. When the black cake is supposed to be a symbol of heritage what does that mean when youâre talking about a random island that has no name but really does have a name? Itâs especially weird because culture is central to this story. Wilkerson spends pages on the food, the customs, the islandâs dynamics. Heritage is the entire point of the book. Yet instead of actually engaging with Jamaica and its particular legacy, she chooses to leave it unnamed and it groups all the islands together like theyâre interchangeable. It undercuts the very thing sheâs trying to explore.
Also, the book tries to tackle too many social issues. It feels like she threw every injustice in there to see what sticks. What works best is the exploration of generational trauma and how the secrets meant to protect us can also destroy intimacy with the people we love. The complexity of flawed parents doing their best with unhealed wounds is where the book shines. I wish Wilkerson had trusted that emotional core instead of diluting it with surface treatments of a dozen other issues. The story inside Black Cake is genuinely excellent. The execution just doesnât match it.
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Black Cake
Charmaine Wilkerson
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