red_kitten

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My Taste

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3)

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The Calamity Club

Kathryn Stockett

The multi-million copy selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything. In 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, Prohibition is on the wane, and the Great Depression is tightening its grip. Poor and rich folks alike have fallen on hard times, even as the old social order remains. For women on the margins, the options are few and the price of dignity and self-determination is unbearably high. Eleven-year-old Meg, one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. And Charlie is a woman with a past, running low on luck but driven by fire, fury, and grit. When their fates converge, they come up with an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. Together, they form an unlikely sisterhood—but in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, women’s freedom is fragile, and making an enemy can have dire consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high? The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to resilience, friendship, and the fierce, funny women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.

red_kitten commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

12h

Nuancedtofu

Edited

Weird library

So I’m not sure if this is weird or not but let me cook lol. I recently went to the library in my town for the first time since moving here. The location I went to was the big, downtown one. The fiction section on the second floor…it wasn’t separated by genres. It was just fiction a to z. I thought it was super weird and really inefficient to find books as a patron but also probably for the librarians too. Fast forward to today and I went to a different location. It was the same. No genres just non-fiction and fiction a to z. Every library I went to growing up, throughout college and in other cities have had clearly labelled sections for individual genres. It’s frustrating as a reader that chooses things based on the genre and not a specific title or author. Do you have a library like this near you? Is this normal elsewhere?

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13h

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

In her new novella, Sunday Times best-selling author Becky Chambers imagines a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves. Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home. Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky's first audiobook outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination of listeners all over the world.

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16h

Sourdough

Robin Sloan

Lois Clary is a software engineer at General Dexterity, a San Francisco robotics company with world-changing ambitions. She codes all day and collapses at night, her human contact limited to the two brothers who run the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall from which she orders dinner every evening. Then, disaster! Visa issues. The brothers close up shop, and fast. But they have one last delivery for Lois: their culture, the sourdough starter used to bake their bread. She must keep it alive, they tell her—feed it daily, play it music, and learn to bake with it. Lois is no baker, but she could use a roommate, even if it is a needy colony of microorganisms. Soon, not only is she eating her own homemade bread, she’s providing loaves daily to the General Dexterity cafeteria. The company chef urges her to take her product to the farmer’s market, and a whole new world opens up. When Lois comes before the jury that decides who sells what at Bay Area markets, she encounters a close-knit club with no appetite for new members. But then, an alternative emerges: a secret market that aims to fuse food and technology. But who are these people, exactly?

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17h

Too Old For This

Samantha Downing

You’d never guess Lottie Jones had skeletons in her closet.She’s lived in town for decades now. She’s getting older. She lives for the simple pleasures of weekly bingo games at church, and gossiping with her friends about their children’s love lives.But when investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past, and specifically about her connection to numerous unsolved murders, well, Lottie just can’t have that.But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realises this crime might just be the death of her…

red_kitten commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

19h

red_kitten

Books with characters who are IT specialists

Inspired by a recent discussion of books involving your area of expertise :)

I've been working in IT for most of my life, so I'd be curious to read some books where characters are involved in the same area in some meaningful way. And I don't mean sci-fi with "hackers in virtual reality" - I can enjoy these books too of course, but they are out of the scope of this request :) So I'm looking for recommendations of some stories where at least one character is a programmer or an IT administrator or a QA engineer or something similar, and their activities are somewhat meaningfully featured in the storyline (beyond just "the love interest is a software developer but they might as well have been a lawyer or a marketing manager, the story wouldn't change a lot").

The genre doesn't matter much I guess :) Thanks!

red_kitten is interested in reading...

19h

Sparks

Jae

What seems broken might just need a reboot in this slow-burn, lesbian romance. New admin Willow Greene has the worst luck with electronics. Computers crash, printers jam, and even coffee machines refuse to cooperate when she's around. Like her devices, her relationships never seem to last, so she has given up on dating. That's why she's seriously unprepared for the IT department's easygoing, always smiling Scottie Prescott, who has far too much charm to be safe. Scottie can't help noticing introverted, mysterious Willow, but she's still healing from a bad breakup. The last thing she needs is more chaos, given she's supposed to fix problems, not get tangled up in them. But when they get stuck in an elevator together, the sparks between them become impossible to ignore. Can they risk their carefully protected hearts getting burned?

Post from the Pagebound Club forum

20h

red_kitten

Books with characters who are IT specialists

Inspired by a recent discussion of books involving your area of expertise :)

The genre doesn't matter much I guess :) Thanks!

red_kitten commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

AquaPhantasia

Dealing with bad faith takes on media

So this is probably a me only issue but I am not someone who can handle seeing "bad" takes on media I like.

Like, I don't mind people disagreeing with me, more so takes and comments that kind of miss the point or make invalid criticism that is easily debunked.

Like, I see a lot of takes on blood over blight haven for example I have issues with, and I feel kind immature when a certain take a stranger online shared frustrates me for days, even weeks!

I guess my question is how do you all handle seeing "bad" takes? Like, do you all talk through it with someone to let it go faster or something similar?

red_kitten is interested in reading...

Rejection: Fiction

Tony Tulathimutte

From the Whiting and O. Henry–winning author of Private Citizens (“the first great millennial novel,” New York Magazine), an electrifying novel-in-stories that follows a cast of intricately linked characters as rejection throws their lives and relationships into chaos. Sharply observant and outrageously funny, Rejection is a provocative plunge into the touchiest problems of modern life. The seven connected stories seamlessly transition between the personal crises of a complex ensemble and the comic tragedies of sex, relationships, identity, and the internet. In “The Feminist,” a young man’s passionate allyship turns to furious nihilism as he realizes, over thirty lonely years, that it isn’t getting him laid. A young woman’s unrequited crush in “Pics” spirals into borderline obsession and the systematic destruction of her sense of self. And in “Ahegao; or, The Ballad of Sexual Repression,” a shy late bloomer’s flailing efforts at a first relationship leads to a life-upending mistake. As the characters pop up in each other’s dating apps and social media feeds, or meet in dimly lit bars and bedrooms, they reveal the ways our delusions can warp our desire for connection. These brilliant satires explore the underrated sorrows of rejection with the authority of a modern classic and the manic intensity of a manifesto. Audacious and unforgettable, Rejection is a stunning mosaic that redefines what it means to be rejected by lovers, friends, society, and oneself.

red_kitten is interested in reading...

Julie Chan Is Dead

Liann Zhang

In this razor-sharp, diabolical debut thriller, a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade. Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse. Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied. Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but. Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.

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To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

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To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

Post from the The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) forum

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red_kitten

Jul 27, 2026

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

5.0

Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 4.0

This book feels like a warm hug! Just enough events happen in the plot in order for me not to get bored whereas the main focus is on interpersonal relationships and worldbuilding. I absolutely loved most of the characters! Warning: you should NOT read this book if you're expecting some thrilling overarching plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat. That's just not the intention of this story. The characters do go on some adventures and encounter difficult and dangerous situations, but the tension is usually released somewhat quickly. I enjoyed this aspect, but it might not be for every reader or every mood. That being said, I still took one star off the "plot" category - the part of the story that happens right after the ship reaches its destination felt a bit disjointed even to me. One of my favorite aspects is how the book is written. Every paragraph feels purposeful and adds to your reading experience, words never feel out of place. To me, the book lives up to every expectation I had going in <3

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To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

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To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

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