Thursday, June 20, 2013

Your Turn

The last book you read and would you recommend it?


101 comments:

  1. Party Monster. I know it's a bit late, but still an interesting read.
    I recommend it.

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  2. Gone Girls. Amazing. Plus my boss's niece wrote it :)

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  3. Gone Girl*. Only one girl was gone.

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  4. I <3 U VIPBlonde

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  5. Anonymous10:05 AM

    I'm in the middle of A Song of Ice and Fire novels .. Book 5 ( my second time reading them ) - highly recommend

    I also just finished The Wolves of the Calla - book 5 of The Dark Tower Series - highly recommend

    Also just finished ( yes I read three books simultaneously ) Generation of Swine - Gonzo Paper Vol 2 by Hunter S Thompson - another recommend

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    1. I just started the first book and I'm hooked!!!

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  6. Dammit, VIP!! A little warning?

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  7. Anonymous10:06 AM

    @VIP - I'm in love with The Big Butt Book - sooooo many amazing booties!!!

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  8. I re-read Blubber, one of my favorite books when I was a child. My niece had a copy so I re-read it. It still cracks me up! Yes, I would recommend it.

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  9. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Basically, if you're single and dating, read it so you know whether or not you should run for the hills.

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  10. VIP, it's not fair to link to something like that blurs out the good stuff. -pout-

    Alicia, wasn't "Wolves of the Calla" great? That shit Andy had it coming! Book 6 is a shocker, too.

    I'm starting on Book 2 of the GoT series and also downloading Neil Gaiman's "The Ocean at the End of the Lane".

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    1. Anonymous5:27 PM

      I just picked up book six today yeeee!

      On a side note I can't ever say or read the name Andy without thinking of the lumberjack in Pee Wees Big Adventure and hearing Pee Wee yell " Andy!!???!!! "

      Lol - it still cracks me up to this day:)

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  11. Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips. A bit stream of consciousness to the writing but I like it!

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  12. I'm currently in the middle of the Game of Thrones books, and also reading the L. Frank Baum "OZ" series (all 12 book...I love my tablet) for bedtime reading (the dreams are infinitely better)
    I recommend both.

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  14. Typos.

    Anyhow, I just finished re-reading The Great Gatsby. I forgot how great it was. Highly recommended next up, re-reading some of the GOT series.

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  15. Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

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  16. A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Part of an ongoing catching-up-on-essential-reads thing. Slowest 200 p. in recent memory. If you read Catcher in the Rye and saw Dead Poets Society, then you can skip this one.

    Wifey is reading Game of Thrones series, which I'll probably go through next. Everyone says they're fun. I need a fun read.

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  17. David Lee Roth's autobiography, "Crazy from the Heat." It's a very interesting study in what happens after your star falls. Justin Bieber and Rhianna will be writing similar books around 2027.

    Roth actually handled it pretty well. He became a paramedic working in the South Bronx for a few years. Now he does a video podcast which is pretty good, tours much smaller venues with Van Halen and, if you believe CDAN blind items, sleeps with men instead of women.

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  18. His Good Opinion
    This is Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's side of the story.
    I did enjoy it very much.

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  19. @Nutty - Bieber will be writing his long before that.

    I just read "I Fellini" which is 14 years worth of Fellini interviews in his own words. Now I'm reading "Torn Music" which is a chronicle of all the film scores composers have had rejected by directors or studios. Next up is William Friedkin's new memoir.

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  21. Rereading World War Z. I would recommend it. I'm not looking forward to the movie. It sounds like they changed a lot.

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  22. Going Clear, and yes.
    For fun, Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. It's so fucking funny.

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  23. "The Orientalist" If you love political history this is the book for you..Sadly I don't but I read the whole damn thing anyway. And no I won't read a book all the way through if I don't want to. Have put down a few that I just never connected with the characters. (I'm looking at you Jonathan Franzen.)

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  24. Just finished Dead Ever After, final installment of the Southern Vampire Sookie Stackhouse novels, near the end of A Song of Ice and Fire.

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  25. And I would recommend both, but if you are into Sookie, prepare to be disappointed.

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  26. Currently reading "We killed" A history of women comics. Loving this one.

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  27. "Who I Am" by Pete Townshend and no I wouldn't recommend it. He is as insufferable on the page as he has been in interviews for the last 50 years. I understand why Roger Daltry was always beating him up.

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  28. Just re-read Beaches by Iris Ranier Dart on a weird whim. Highly recommend. It's nothing like the movie. Totally different, more deep and real. Funny too.

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  29. War and Peace. I recommend it if you have nine months to spare.

    It certainly explains Communism in The Soviet Union.

    1600 pages of fun.

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    1. Mary Jones then The Orientalist is right up your alley! I actually thought about War and Peace. Somehow I'm glad I chose something "lighter".

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  30. 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak. A gorgeous and heartbreaking read. Narrated by the grim reaper who becomes fascinated with a little girl growing up in WWII-era Germany. One of the best books I've read in a while.

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  31. Just finished "9/11 Ordinary People, Extraordinary Heros" by William Merritt. It's about some of the first responders on 9/11 - firefighters, NYPD and PAPD. Very well written.

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  32. This Is Where I Leave You - Jonathan Tropper
    Yes, I definitely recommend.

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  33. Gone Girl and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

    The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi

    and I'm in the middle of re-reading Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher for the 90th time

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  34. The Doctor is Sick by Anthony Burgess (also wrote A Clockwork Orange but I found this one a lot easier). Quite bizarre, but I enjoyed it

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  35. The Kings Depart by Richard Watt. About the end of the World War I and the treaty of Versailles, which was nothing but a clusterfuck. Highly recommended to anyone interested in history, this is one of the best books regardless of subject I've ever read.

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  36. Wool by Hugh Howey.

    I'm not usually a science fiction reader, but this series is fantastic.

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  37. Ethereal - was pretty good a lot like Eden by Jamie McGuire

    Currently reading Mirror Image - also pretty good

    Read Gone Girl too, guess I'm one of the few that thought it was awful. Doesn't compare to other suspense/thrillers like Gone for Good.

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  39. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, it's an old series but I really love it

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  40. Divergent and then Insurgent. Am desperate for the third book to come out!

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  41. Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin

    I'd recommend it if you like that sort of fluff. I absolutely adored the first 6 books in the series, and waited a long time for the last 2, but he could never capture that original feeling.

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  42. @Hanwi - just looked that book up on Amazon - it's not on Kindle yet but when it is, I'm going to get it. Looks really interesting (and its size is huge - my arthritis won't let me hold books that heavy for any period of time so I have to wait).

    As far as War and Peace - I tried it once years ago - have it on Kindle now but haven't gotten up the energy to read it yet.

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  43. The Prospector by JMG Le Clezio. The man is an incredible writer. I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett is one of the best, funniest reads ever.

    I cannot recommend either of these authors highly enough.

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  44. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. YA Novel about two kids with cancer falling in love. It is lovely, funny and of course, heartbreaking.

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  46. Dry. By Augusten Burroughs. He also wrote Running With Scissors, I highly recommend both. Especially if you have ever struggled with or are struggling with alcohol addiction or any other substance.

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  47. Europa editions is a wonderful publisher that has introduced me to writers from across the world. Just started Mosquito by Roma Tearne a Sri Lanka writer. This is her first novel from 2007. Am loving it so far.

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  48. I have three:

    "Bad Monkey," Carl Hiaasen.

    "A Delicate Truth," John Le Carre;

    "Berlin Noir," PHillip Kerr;

    Liked them all.

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    1. I adore Hiassen. Such fun reads. Particularly Skink.

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  49. Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch. Very entertaining trilogy - Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho then Whispers Under Ground. About a police officer who is part of a department that deals with the weird bits. River spirits, jazz vampires, vagina dentata, that sort of thing.

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  50. Just finished "Inferno" by Dan Brown, gives you something to think about. I'm re-reading " The Gift Of Fear" by Gavin De Becker before sending it off to my daughter. All women should read this book.
    I'd recommend them both.

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  51. The Time Travellers Wife. It was awesome.

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  52. Not much to spend right now, so I'm mostly re-reading. Among them are the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George, the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, anything by Dennis Lehane, the Harry Potter series, the Benjamin January series by Barbara Hambly (I am an escapist, I admit...). Love them all.

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  53. Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo.

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  54. Grape: I too loved all those Armisted Maupin books but as they progressed they were never as thrilling as when you first meet the characters.

    I definitely need to check out "Dry".

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  55. All of the Sarah Jio books were fun to read - light with a little bit of crime, history, a love story - all rolled into one. Life at the Marmont was a fun read. Five Chimneys was heartbreaking, sad, and sick, but nonetheless a book that everyone needs to read. The Real Life Downton Abbey was great, and a good read for anyone who likes the show. All of the Vince Flynn books (RIP). I read a LOT - cannot function without my books or Kindle. A long red light is an excuse to read a few words :)
    (But NOT while driving LOL!!!)

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  56. Fiction: Homeland by Cory Doctorow. Sequel to Little Brother. Prepare to be freaked out, because while the story is fictional, the tech stuff (think: PRISM/surveillance) is very real.

    Non-Fiction: The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: a collection of widely divergent true stories, from the strange death of one of the foremost Sherlock Holmes experts, to a man unjustly executed in Texas, to the system of water tunnels beneath NYC. Well written!

    Right now, I'm not reading a book so much as collection of columns :)

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  57. (Forgot to add that David Grann is the author of the non-fiction book.)

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  58. Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes. Chick lit at its most intelligent.

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  59. Gone Girl - the book was awesome but the ending sucked balls. Go ahead and read it but be forwarned you will not walk away happy!

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  60. "Killer Heels" by Rebecca Chance - like a cross between Devil Wears Prada and 50 Shades, but really well-written, and sex scenes hot as hell! Am getting all her other books now.

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  61. People War and Peace is not a hard book at all it's like a literary soap opera! Except when Tolstoy goes off on the nature of history and how Russia beat Napoleon fair and square and the winter had nothing to do with it. I skipped those segments first read, found them interesting the 2nd time. It's actually my fave and an easy read.

    I also read Life After Life by Atkinson - great,

    I'm also rereading The Malazan Book of the Fallen with a group, truly the best fantasy series ever, so much better than GoT. Not an easy read.

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  62. Lay Death at Her Door, by Elizabeth Buhmann. Twisty tale, perfect for a summer read.

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  63. I also didn't care for Gone Girl

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  64. @Sherry They were so fabulous! I even loved all the mini-series tv shows they came out with back then.

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  65. I'm reading Taking Chances because it takes place where I live. However, not finding it to be the most intellectual read. Love triangle at college, big studly men fighting.over a thin big-breasted girl who was totally innocent pre-college.

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  66. Whiskey beach, nora roberts. Totally reccomend as a break from insane world, lol

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  67. Mick Foley's - Foley is Good. Not sure I would recommend it. He is so full of himself and comes of kinda creeping when talking about the Divas. I was a fan before reading his books not really a fan now.

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  68. God Save the Queen by Kate Locke- brilliant and just about to start on the sequel. So enjoyable in a fantasy way.

    Every Dead Thing by John Connolly- re-reading for the gazillionth time. One of the best thrillers (and start to the best series of books) ever. If you love thrillers and want a load of books you will not want to put down, the Charlie Parker series is a must.

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  69. The Art of Racing in the Rain - great read.

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  70. Aloha, Lady Blue - loved it.

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  72. I just finished "The Obituary Writer" by Ann Hood. Beautiful, lyrical writing, some very moving poetry references. The ending, however, falls short.

    I'm now reading "Patriot Hearts" by Barbara Wembley. Meh, it's OK.

    Last book that made me go "Wow!" was "419" by Will Ferguson.

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  73. Anonymous3:49 PM

    read the Lost Wife now, last book was “The Borrower” by Rebecca Makkai. I also disliked Gone Girl -aside from main characters being over the top the plot holes were too big.

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  74. Just finished the old classic scifi Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein, yes I would recommend.

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  75. I'm glad Enty started this thread, I have a whole new list of books to check out! Yayyyyyy!

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  76. Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding. She's does beautiful descriptions, and it's a fascinating story. I also just finished Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead. It was alright, but I didn't see what all the fuss was about. I liked A Visit from the Goon Squad better.

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  77. If you want to be thrown back into the 1920's and Art Deco period, read Amor Towles Rules of Civility. It would be a great chaser to The Great Gatsby because Fitzgerald lived it and Towles is only imagining it. It's a very interesting comparison and Towles is obviously a F. Scott Fitzerald fan.

    I loved Max Brooks'World War Z! The movie looks nothing like it. I hope it's made into a TV miniseries on a cable network like FX or A&E, not AMC who keep screwing over their zombies.

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  78. A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon - great read!

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  79. Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World

    Really interesting, but a bit tedious after the halfway mark...

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  80. I just finished Church Folk. It was a pretty good book. Not a page turner, but it's a good read.

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  81. Finished "Killing Down the Roman Line" and would definitely recommend. It's inspired by the murder of the "Black Donnelly" family in rural Canada back in the 1800s.

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  82. I'm reading The Teleportation Accident right now, and will have to get back on whether I'd recommend it.

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  83. Anonymous6:21 PM

    The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. An easy, fast read that I would have never picked up if my Book Club hadn't selected it.

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  84. Fever Dream by Preston&Childs--the Pendergast series
    The Devil You Know by Mike Carey
    Horns by Joe Hill
    The Walker Papers by CE Murphy
    The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

    I read a bit

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  85. I finished The Beach House by James Patterson and have been floundering around for something else to read for a while. The beach House was that damn good. I could not put it down. Just started Whodunit by Anthony Zuiker and so far so good. It's a book tie in with the new Whodunit reality show that starts on Sunday

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  86. "Happy Happy Happy" by Phil Robertson: recommended if you like the show.

    "An Atheist in a FOXhole" by Joe Muto: mildly amusing.

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  87. This is my favorite question! I'm a librarian and I LOVE reading all your responses. (Plus it's so great to hear that so many people are still reading for fun!) I don't read much fiction aside from our book club titles so most of my recommendations are history or biography or economics. However I did enjoy The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones (she wrote Lost in Translation.) The FDR bio by Jean Edward Smith is excellent as is Cleopatra by Schiff. Another fascinating book is Rabid by Bill Wasik which is a cultural history of rabies. Fun Home and Are You My mother, both by Alison Bechdel, are also excellent.

    Don't forget your public library has thousands of FREE eBooks and downloadable audiobooks available. If you don't have an eReader you can still get the apps for your smartphone. This is especially useful for audiobooks- just load them on your phone and your commute is a million times better!

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  88. Proof of Heaven, by Eben Alexander, MD
    Really thought provoking. My kids read it and all enjoyed it as well. The author claims its the true story if his journey I to the afterlife. He's a neurosurgeon, so he sort of gives both sides of his experience; patient/scientist.

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  89. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. An amazing book that I have read more than once. Full of hope and despair. I recommend it to anyone who will listen.

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  90. Surviving Raine by Shay Savage - brilliant book

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  91. I just finished re-reading A Storm of Swords from the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Absolutely recommend it, but only if you've read the first two novels. It's definitely my favourite in the series.

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  92. @Cari G
    I love Sherman Alexie! I love his short stories, especially Blasphemy and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.

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  93. Just did a reread of all the Song of Ice and Fire books. And I never stop recommending them. :)

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