Simon's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 01 May 2025 01:43:43 -0700 60 Simon's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Kill The French: 100 stories in French written with transparent words (French Edition)]]> 60402774
A Revolution in Language Learning
Did you know that 20,000 French words are nearly identical in English? This book utilizes 1,200 of those words to take you on a journey through the French language with 100 easy-to-follow short stories that build on what you already know!

See how much French you already know
« Le train arrive dans six minutes à la station Opéra »
« J’invite mes parents et mes cousins à dîner au restaurant »
« Le journaliste interview le président de la République française »

Hack Your Learning
Kill the French is strategically designed to help you learn French faster and easier than ever before. The stories begin with dialogues that even people with zero French experience can understand. In just 100 days, you’ll add 1,600 new French words to your vocabulary, become comfortable with French tenses (past, present, & future), and quickly improve your understanding of the language.

Key Features

100 dialogues in French - Enjoy fun stories about topics like how to give your first kiss, build a nuclear bomb, or even zombie attacks!Learn 60% of the language - Use the pareto effect to acquire 60% of the French language just by learning the 500 hundred most common words.Smart repetition - To optimize learning, every new word is repeated following a decreasing algorithm at day + 1, day + 3, day + 6.1,200 transparent words - The amazing crossover between the two languages means that you can learn hundreds of words instantly!]]>
268 Vincent Serrano Guerra Simon 0 to-read 4.27 Kill The French: 100 stories in French written with transparent words (French Edition)
author: Vincent Serrano Guerra
name: Simon
average rating: 4.27
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date added: 2025/05/01
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<![CDATA[Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly]]> 33313 A deluxe, annotated edition of Kitchen Confidential to celebrate the life of Anthony Bourdain, featuring new photo inserts

Over two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,� by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation, and the book it spawned, the now iconic Kitchen Confidential, became an even bigger sensation and megabestseller. Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.

Fans will love to return to this deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade, laying out Bourdain’s more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine. Including a handwritten introduction and annotations done by Bourdain about a decade after the book was originally published, this edition also features previously unpublished photos to accompany the now-classic text.]]>
312 Anthony Bourdain 0060899220 Simon 0 to-read 4.17 2000 Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
author: Anthony Bourdain
name: Simon
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2000
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/20
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<![CDATA[One Man and His Bike A LifeChanging Journey All the Way Around the Coast of Britain Paperback 7 Jun 2012]]> 140081947 happy.]]> 0 Mike Carter Simon 0 to-read 4.22 2011 One Man and His Bike A LifeChanging Journey All the Way Around the Coast of Britain Paperback 7 Jun 2012
author: Mike Carter
name: Simon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/25
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<![CDATA[How to Stop Overthinking: The 7-Step Plan to Control and Eliminate Negative Thoughts, Declutter Your Mind and Start Thinking Positively in 5 Minutes or ... (Master the Art of Self-Improvement Book 1)]]> 45895905
By reading this book, you’ll discover how to deal with your fears, overcome negative thoughts, relieve stress, and stop your overthinking for good.

What you should expect along the journey of practicing the techniques and strategies throughout this book is to be aware of where your mental chatter comes from, and how to address it.

Stop worrying about what you did today and start living in the moment. Stop living for tomorrow and start breathing in the positivity of today. Stop overthinking your future and make big changes to live your future now.

We are only ever promised today, so instead of obsessing over what you could have done at that social event or trying to control what you will do in your next appointment, learn to breathe in this moment you have now.

What you’ll

How to Control Overthinking and Eliminate Negative Thoughts in Just a Few Minutes.10 Powerful Tactics to Stop Worrying Permanently.How to Sleep Better, Even if Your Head Is Full of Thoughts.Simple Tips to Develop Self-Confidence and Decision-Making Skills.How to Remove Toxicity and Change Your Relationships for the Better.5 Ways to Calm Anxiety (Worrying) in Five Minutes or Less.Troubleshooting Guide if Nothing Helps.How to Declutter Your Mind and Become What You Want in Life.This book will go through the reasons why the way you think now is not beneficial to your being and how positivity can greatly improve your outlook and put yourself in the direction you want your life to go.

So, quit being stuck, stop letting your mind trap you, and take control of what you want. There are finally lessons and a structure to get you to where you want to be rather than where you are now. AND, it’s all in this book.

Would You Like To Know More?Download this book to get started and turn off your overthinking for good!

Scroll to the top of the page and select the “Buy now with 1-Click� button.]]>
170 Chase Hill Simon 0 to-read 3.77 2019 How to Stop Overthinking: The 7-Step Plan to Control and Eliminate Negative Thoughts, Declutter Your Mind and Start Thinking Positively in 5 Minutes or ... (Master the Art of Self-Improvement Book 1)
author: Chase Hill
name: Simon
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies]]> 226615 400 Pamela Des Barres 1556526687 Simon 0 3.59 2007 Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies
author: Pamela Des Barres
name: Simon
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/24
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<![CDATA[Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die]]> 61271940 Free yourself and your family from the f*cking clutter before you croak!

Inspired by The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Nobody Wants Your Sh*t will light a fire under your untidy ass with humor and helpful organizing tips that you’ll actually want to use.

Like a delightfully foul-mouthed best friend, this book dishes out the funny, unpretentious advice you need to hear most. You’ll discover how to deal with your sh*t like there’s no tomorrow, live in the moment without the f*cking mess, and make your life and your eventual death a hell of a lot easier. With this witty guide, you’ll learn how to
- ditch the d*mn indecision
- get your sh*t together and feel fantastic
- give your busy family a f*cking breakand more!

Whether you’re getting ready to move in, move on, or just move your ass, Nobody Wants Your Sh*t will help you take control of your f*cking life.]]>
194 Messie Condo 1510775110 Simon 0 to-read 3.64 Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die
author: Messie Condo
name: Simon
average rating: 3.64
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<![CDATA[Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman]]> 203579088 A memoir of the author's journey from an office job to restoring a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, based on his wildly popular Outside Magazine piece.


Wit’s End isn’t just a state of mind. It’s the name of a gravel road, the address of a run-down off-the-grid cabin, 120 shabby square feet of fixer-upper Patrick Hutchison purchased on a whim in the mossy woods of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state.


To say Hutchison didn’t know what he was getting into is no more an exaggeration than to say he’s a man with nearly zero carpentry skills. Well, used to be. You can learn a lot over six years or renovations.


CABIN is the story of those renovations, but it's also a love story; of a place, of possibilities, and of the process of renovation, of seeing what could be instead of what is. It is a book for those who know what it’s like to bite off more than you can chew, or who desperately wish to.

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304 Patrick Hutchison 1250285704 Simon 0 to-read 4.04 2024 Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman
author: Patrick Hutchison
name: Simon
average rating: 4.04
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Confidenza 48585454 152 Domenico Starnone 880624356X Simon 0 3.50 2019 Confidenza
author: Domenico Starnone
name: Simon
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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Faith, Hope and Carnage 59851730
Created from more than forty hours of intimate conversations with the journalist Seán O’Hagan, this is a profoundly thoughtful exploration, in Cave’s own words, of what really drives his life and creativity.

The book examines questions of belief, art, music, freedom, grief and love. It draws candidly on Cave’s life, from his early childhood to the present day, his loves, his work ethic and his dramatic transformation in recent years.

Faith, Hope and Carnage offers ladders of hope and inspiration from a true visionary.]]>
294 Nick Cave 0374607370 Simon 0 to-read 4.41 2022 Faith, Hope and Carnage
author: Nick Cave
name: Simon
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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<![CDATA[We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life]]> 52559138 "A masterpiece. The truest, most generous, honest, and helpful sobriety memoir I’ve read. It’s going to save lives." -Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Warrior and Carry On, Warrior

"Laura McKowen’s fearless, eloquent, powerful story is an ode to living an awakened life. Yes, this is a book about getting (and staying) sober, but it’s so much more than that. It is about embracing the beautiful messiness of being human." -Dani Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of Inheritance

What could possibly be “lucky� about addiction? Absolutely nothing, thought Laura McKowen when drinking brought her “to her knees.� As she puts it, she “kicked and screamed . . . wishing for something � anything � else� to be her issue. The people who got to drink normally, she thought, were so damn lucky. But in the midst of early sobriety, when no longer able to anesthetize her pain and anxiety, she realized, with more than a bit of amazement, that she was actually the lucky one. Lucky to feel her feelings, live honestly, really be with her daughter, change her legacy.

She recognized that “those of us who answer the invitation to wake up, whatever our invitation, are really the luckiest of all.� McKowen addresses issues such as facing facts, the question of AA, and other people’s drinking. Without sugarcoating the struggles of recovery, she relentlessly emphasizes the many blessings of an honest life, one without secrets and debilitating guilt. McKowen flips the script on how we talk about sobriety and shows readers that the question we should be asking in our lives is not, “Is this bad enough that I have to change?� but rather, “Is this good enough to stay the same?”]]>
248 Laura McKowen 1608686558 Simon 0 to-read 4.31 2020 We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
author: Laura McKowen
name: Simon
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2020
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It's So Easy: And Other Lies 11156963 In 1984, at the age of twenty, Duff McKagan left his native Seattle—partly to pursue music but mainly to get away from a host of heroin overdoses then decimating his closest group of friends in the local punk scene. In L.A. only a few weeks and still living in his car, he answered a want ad for a bass player placed by someone who identified himself only as “Slash.� Soon after, the most dangerous band in the world was born. Guns N� Roses went on to sell more than 100 million albums worldwide.

In It's So Easy, Duff recounts GN’R’s unlikely trajectory to a string of multiplatinum albums, sold-out stadium concerts, and global acclaim. But that kind of glory can take its toll, and it did—ultimately—on Duff, as well as on the band itself. As GN’R began to splinter, Duff felt that he himself was done, too. But his near death as a direct result of alcoholism proved to be his watershed, the turning point that led to his unique path to sobriety and the unexpected choices he has made for himself since. In a voice that is as honest as it is indelibly his own, Duff—one of rock’s smartest and most articulate personalities—takes readers on his harrowing journey through the dark heart of one of the most notorious bands in rock-and-roll history and out the other side.

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366 Duff McKagan 145160663X Simon 0 to-read 4.21 2011 It's So Easy: And Other Lies
author: Duff McKagan
name: Simon
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight]]> 1885730
Due to an unfortunate incident involving a leaking pen and suspected outbreak of Bird Flu, Joel and Cat are forced to sit next to each other in Extension English. To make matters worse, and to their mutual horror, they are paired together for a tandem story writing assignment.
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240 Nick Earls 0143006916 Simon 0 to-read 3.78 2007 Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight
author: Nick Earls
name: Simon
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/28
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Cloudstreet 343881 Cloudstreet exemplifies the brilliant ability of fiction to captivate and inspire.

Struggling to rebuild their lives after being touched by disaster, the Pickle family, who've inherited a big house called Cloudstreet in a suburb of Perth, take in the God-fearing Lambs as tenants. The Lambs have suffered their own catastrophes, and determined to survive, they open up a grocery on the ground floor. From 1944 to 1964, the shared experiences of the two overpopulated clans -- running the gamut from drunkenness, adultery, and death to resurrection, marriage, and birth -- bond them to each other and to the bustling, haunted house in ways no one could have anticipated.

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426 Tim Winton 0743234413 Simon 0 to-read 4.02 1991 Cloudstreet
author: Tim Winton
name: Simon
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1991
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Magic]]> 60099153
Peter Shapiro is the best known and most influential concert promoter of his generation. He owned the legendary Wetlands in Tribeca and has gone on to much bigger things, including Brooklyn Bowl (NYC, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Nashville), the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, producing U2 3D , and promoting the Grateful Dead’s fiftieth-anniversary tour (“Fare Thee Well�) featuring the Core Four and Trey Anastasio . . . and so much more.

In The Music Never Stops , Shapiro shares the inside story of how he became a power-house in the music industry—an island in an increasingly consolidated landscape of venues, ticketing, and touring—through the lens of fifty iconic concerts. Along the way, readers gain insight into what it was like to work with some of the most celebrated bands in modern music, including not just the Grateful Dead and U2, but also Bob Dylan, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Al Green, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Jason Isbell, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Roots, Robert Plant, Leonard Cohen, and many more.

Featuring never-before-published back-stage anecdotes, insights, and photographs of the biggest bands in the business and the concerts that later became legendary, The Music Never Stops is a perfect guide for any-one who wants to understand the modern live music industry.]]>
352 Peter Shapiro 0306845180 Simon 0 to-read 3.80 The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Magic
author: Peter Shapiro
name: Simon
average rating: 3.80
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<![CDATA[Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from Zen in the Art of Archery]]> 106421
A Zenand kyudo (archery) master,Awa Kenzo (1880�1939) first gained worldwide renown after the publication of Eugen Herrigel's cult classic Zen in the Art of Archery in 1953. Kenzo lived and taught at a pivotal time in Japan's history, when martial arts were practiced primarily for self-cultivation, and his wise and penetrating instructions for practice (and life)—including aphorisms, poetry, instructional lists, and calligraphy—are infused with the spirit of Zen. Kenzo uses the metaphor of the bow and arrow to challenge the practitioner to look deeply into his or her own true nature.]]>
128 John Stevens 159030442X Simon 0 currently-reading 3.92 2007 Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from Zen in the Art of Archery
author: John Stevens
name: Simon
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/24
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<![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]>
374 Suzanne Collins Simon 3 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Simon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 3
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date added: 2024/11/23
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Riding With Giants 49210134 337 Peter Holmes a Court 1743484275 Simon 3 3.83 Riding With Giants
author: Peter Holmes a Court
name: Simon
average rating: 3.83
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rating: 3
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<![CDATA[Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts)]]> 199844040
Serj Tankian will be the first to admit that his band, System of a Down, was “unlikely a chart-topper as had ever existed in modern music a band of Armenian-Americans playing a practically unclassifiable clash of wildly aggressive metal riffs, unconventional tempo-twisting rhythms, and Armenian folk melodies, with me alternately growling, screaming, and crooning lyrics that could pivot from avant-garde silliness to raging socio-political rants in the space of a single line.� After all, as Serj concedes, “it’s not easy listening.�

Even so, there’s no doubt that System’s music had struck a chord with millions of listeners across the globe ever since they burst on the scene in the mid-1990s. With nearly 40 million album sales, three albums topping the Billboard charts, and a devoted legion of fans, the band dominated the alt-rock and metal scenes just as the world hurtled into a new millennium, redefining the very idea of what rockstars could and couldn’t talk about, could and couldn’t do, could and couldn’t represent.

In DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM, Serj presents readers with a memoir that is far more than just arock 'n' roll fable. It's an immigrant's tale, it’s an activist's awakening, and it's a spiritual journey from darkness toward light. And all of this comes down to the fact that Serj himself has had the chance to live an extraordinary life—thanks to a combination of luck, circumstance, struggle, talent, and spiritual awakening. Born to Armenian parents in Beirut, Serj grows up hearing bombs drop outside his childhood home during the country’s civil war, before moving to Los Angeles at the age of seven. As a young man, he is immersed in the SoCal community of “Little Armenia,� learning more and more about the brutal genocide faced by his ancestors while helping his parents adapt to the constraints and contradictions of the American Dream. Then, during a pivotal drive home from an LSAT class, Serj decides to turn away from a promising future in business and law to make music instead—a decision that leads him to touring five continents as the lead singer of a hugely popular rock band, hitting number #1 on the Billboard album charts the morning of 9/11, and then having the hit single from the same album banned from radio two days later. In the years that follow, his uniquely singular story continues, as heevades glass bottles hurled at a cancelled show by angry Slayer fans, teams up with Tom Morello to push social justice causes on unsuspecting metalheads, argues with LAPD officers over the best way to quell rioting fans, and defines new sounds and singing tactics with Rick Rubin.

Braiding together Serj’s thought-provoking insight with heartfelt and poetic prose, DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM retracesSerj’s remarkable and unlikely journey, and explores what it’s taught him—about music, about art, about activism, and about himself. It’s an unforgettable ride that will leave you breathless—and an absolute delight for new fans and old ones alike.]]>
352 Serj Tankian 0306831929 Simon 4 4.45 Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts)
author: Serj Tankian
name: Simon
average rating: 4.45
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<![CDATA[Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse and What to Do About It]]> 61783761 A high-octane polemic against cars—which are ruining the world, while making us unhappy and unhealthy—from a talented young writer at the Economist

The automobile was one of the most miraculous inventions of the 20th century. It promised freedom, style, and utility. But sometimes, rather than improving our lives technology just makes everything worse. Over the past century cars have filled the air with toxic pollutants and fueled climate change. Cars have stolen public space and made our cities uglier, dirtier, less useful, and more unequal. Cars have caused tens of millions of deaths and injuries. They have wasted our time and our money.

In Carmageddon, journalist Daniel Knowles outlines the rise of the automobile and the costs we all bear as a result. Weaving together history, economics, and reportage, Knowles traces the forces and decisions that normalized cars and cemented our reliance on them. He takes readers around the world to show the ways car use has impacted people’s lives—from Nairobi, where few people own a car but the city is still cloaked in smog, to Houston, where the Katy Freeway has a mind-boggling 26 lanes and there are 30 parking spaces for every resident, enough land to fit Paris ten times. With these negatives, Knowles shows that there are better ways to live, looking at Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Tokyo, and New York City.

CARMAGEDDON features original reporting from:
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
New York
Paris, France
Mumbai, India
Nairobi, Kenya
Tokyo, Japan
London, Birmingham, and Coventry, England

CARMAGEDDON also covers:
Atlanta
Cincinnati
Louisville
Memphis
St Louis
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copenhagen, Denmark
Lagos, Nigeria
Sao Paolo, Brazil
Singapore
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256 Daniel Knowles 1419758802 Simon 0 4.28 2023 Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse and What to Do About It
author: Daniel Knowles
name: Simon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
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Goth: A History 85157760
GOTH isan entertaining and engaging historical memoir of the genre of Goth music and culture, exploring creative giants like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, and many more great bands that offered a place of refuge for the misfits of the 80s and ever since. Written by Lol Tolhurst, co-founder of The Cure, this book offers a fascinating deep dive into the movers and shakers of goth with stories and anecdotes from Tolhurst’s personal memories as well as the musicians, magicians, and artists, who made it all happen—the people, places, and events that made goth an inevitable and enduring movement.

Starting with the Origins of Goth, Tolhurst explores early art and literature that inspired the genre and looks into the work of T.S Eliot, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath , Albert Camus and more. He also outlines the path of Gothic Forebears and shows how many musicians played in punk bands before transitioning into goth endeavors. Next, he introduces readers to the "Architects of Darkness "—Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy division and The Cure—the godfathers of goth who established the genre's roots. Following these early bands, Tolhurst discusses a group he calls the " Spiritual Alchemists ", consisting of bands like Depeche Mode, Cocteau Twins and more, who helped the darkness expand into the culture. He also tracks the expansion of the genre overseas, from England to New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. Gothic fashion was an important part of the movement as well, and Tolhurst discusses the clothing that accompanied and complemented the music. Finally, Tolhurst examines the legacy of goth music, and shows how its influence can still be seen to this day across music, film, TV, visual arts, social media, and so much more finally concluding “Why Goth matters!�
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257 Lol Tolhurst 0306828421 Simon 0 3.65 2023 Goth: A History
author: Lol Tolhurst
name: Simon
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star]]> 1883838 413 Nikki Sixx 1847371663 Simon 0 4.12 2007 The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star
author: Nikki Sixx
name: Simon
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
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Permanent Record 46223297
In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it.

Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online—a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet’s conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.]]>
339 Edward Snowden 1250237238 Simon 0 4.29 2019 Permanent Record
author: Edward Snowden
name: Simon
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/10
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<![CDATA[Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity]]> 58169 Where do ideas come from?

In Catching the Big Fish, internationally acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch provides a rare window into his methods as an artist, his personal working style, and the immense creative benefits he has experienced from the practice of meditation.

Lynch describes the experience of "diving within" and "catching" ideas like fish - and then preparing them for television or movie screens, and other mediums in which he works, such as painting, music, and design. Lynch writes for the first time about his more than three-decade commitment to Transcendental Meditation and the difference it has made in his creative process.

In brief chapters, Lynch explains the development of his ideas - where they came from, how he grasps them, and which ones appeal to him the most. He specifically discusses how he puts his thoughts into action and how he engages with others around him. Finally, he considers the self and the surrounding world - and how the process of "diving within" that has so deeply affected his own work can directly benefit others.

Catching the Big Fish comes as a revelation to the legion of fans who have longed to better understand Lynch's personal vision. And it is equally intriguing to those who wonder how they can nurture their own creativity.]]>
181 David Lynch 1585425400 Simon 0 3.78 2006 Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity
author: David Lynch
name: Simon
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[La Disparition de Stephanie Mailer]]> 37917113 L’enquête, confiée à la police d’État, est menée par un duo de jeunes policiers, Jesse Rosenberg et Derek Scott. Ambitieux et tenaces, ils parviendront à confondre le meurtrier, solides preuves à l’appui, ce qui leur vaudra les louanges de leur hiérarchie et même une décoration.
Mais vingt ans plus tard, au début de l’été 2014, une journaliste du nom de Stephanie Mailer affirme à Jesse qu’il s’est trompé de coupable à l’époque.
Avant de disparaitre à son tour dans des conditions mystérieuses.

Qu’est-il arrivé à Stephanie Mailer?
Qu’a-t-elle découvert?
Et surtout: que s’est-il vraiment passé le soir du 30 juillet 1994 à Orphea?]]>
635 Joël Dicker Simon 0 to-read 3.94 2018 La Disparition de Stephanie Mailer
author: Joël Dicker
name: Simon
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Le Livre des Baltimore (Marcus Goldman, #2)]]> 26836349
Les Goldman-de-Montclair, dont est issu Marcus Goldman, l’auteur de La Vérité sur l’Affaire Harry Quebert, sont une famille de la classe moyenne, habitant une petite maison à Montclair, dans le New Jersey.

Les Goldman-de-Baltimore sont une famille prospère à qui tout sourit, vivant dans une luxueuse maison d’une banlieue riche de Baltimore, à qui Marcus vouait une admiration sans borne.

Huit ans après le Drame, c’est l’histoire de sa famille que Marcus Goldman décide cette fois de raconter, lorsqu’en février 2012 il quitte l’hiver new-yorkais pour la chaleur tropicale de Boca Raton, en Floride, où il vient s’atteler à son prochain roman.

Au gré des souvenirs de sa jeunesse, Marcus revient sur la vie et le destin des Goldman-de-Baltimore et la fascination qu’il éprouva jadis pour cette famille de l’Amérique huppée, entre les vacances à Miami, la maison de vacances dans les Hamptons et les frasques dans les écoles privées. Mais les années passent et le vernis des Baltimore s’effrite à mesure que le Drame se profile. Jusqu’au jour où tout bascule. Et cette question qui hante Marcus depuis : qu’est-il vraiment arrivé aux Goldman-de-Baltimore ?]]>
476 Joël Dicker 2877069478 Simon 0 to-read 4.12 2015 Le Livre des Baltimore (Marcus Goldman, #2)
author: Joël Dicker
name: Simon
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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And the Ass Saw the Angel 68682 320 Nick Cave 1880985721 Simon 0 to-read 3.87 1989 And the Ass Saw the Angel
author: Nick Cave
name: Simon
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1989
rating: 0
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L'Affaire Alaska Sanders 60146293
Onze ans plus tard, l'affaire rebondit. Le sergent Perry Gahalowood, de la police d'État du New Hampshire, persuadé d'avoir élucidé le crime à l'époque, reçoit une troublante lettre anonyme. Et s'il avait suivi une fausse piste ?

L'aide de son ami l'écrivain Marcus Goldman, qui vient de remporter un immense succès avec La Vérité sur l'Affaire Harry Quebert, inspiré de leur expérience commune, ne sera pas de trop pour découvrir la vérité.]]>
569 Joël Dicker 288973000X Simon 0 to-read 4.26 2022 L'Affaire Alaska Sanders
author: Joël Dicker
name: Simon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Resilience Project: Finding Happiness through Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness]]> 52856373
How was it that young people he knew at home, who had food, shelter, friends and a loving family, struggled with their mental health, while these kids seemed so contented and resilient? He set about finding the answer and in time came to recognise the key traits and behaviours these children possessed were gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.

In the ensuing years Hugh threw himself into studying and sharing this revelation with the world through The Resilience Project, with his playful and unorthodox presentations which both entertain and inform. Now, with the same blend of humour, poignancy and clear-eyed insight that The Resilience Project has become renowned for, Hugh explains how we can all get the tools we need to live a happier and more fulfilling life.]]>
304 Hugh van Cuylenburg 1760892777 Simon 0 to-read 4.29 2019 The Resilience Project: Finding Happiness through Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness
author: Hugh van Cuylenburg
name: Simon
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
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L’Énigme de la chambre 622 51797899 Des années plus tard, au début de l’été 2018, lorsqu’un écrivain se rend dans ce même hôtel pour y passer des vacances, il est loin d’imaginer qu’il va se retrouver plongé dans cette affaire.
Que s’est-il passé dans la chambre 622 du Palace de Verbier?]]>
576 Joël Dicker Simon 0 to-read 3.85 2020 L’Énigme de la chambre 622
author: Joël Dicker
name: Simon
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2020
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L'Anomalie 53970536 En juin 2021, un événement insensé bouleverse les vies de centaines d'hommes et de femmes, tous passagers d'un vol Paris-New York. Parmi eux : Blake, père de famille respectable et néanmoins tueur à gages ; Slimboy, pop star nigériane, las de vivre dans le mensonge ; Joanna, redoutable avocate rattrapée par ses failles ; ou encore Victor Miesel, écrivain confidentiel soudain devenu culte.
Tous croyaient avoir une vie secrète. Nul n'imaginait à quel point c'était vrai.

Roman virtuose où la logique rencontre le magique, L'anomalie explore cette part de nous-mêmes qui nous échappe.

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327 Hervé Le Tellier 207289509X Simon 0 to-read 3.83 2020 L'Anomalie
author: Hervé Le Tellier
name: Simon
average rating: 3.83
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Nick Cave's Bar 56201785

Aug Stone is a writer, comedian, & musician. Stone is the author of the comedy novel Off-License To Kill, and his journalism has appeared in The Quietus, The Comics Journal, Under The Radar, and many other sites and magazines. He performs comedy as Young Southpaw, bringing his surreal stories to the world via The Young Southpaw Part Of An Hour podcast and 'blends the arts with the absurd' on his interview show Etcetera ETC With Young Southpaw.
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0 Aug Stone 1087930804 Simon 3 3.59 Nick Cave's Bar
author: Aug Stone
name: Simon
average rating: 3.59
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The Bell Jar 6514 294 Sylvia Plath 0571268862 Simon 0 to-read 4.05 1963 The Bell Jar
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Simon
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1963
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys]]> 28369597
So began a lifelong friendship that fourteen years later would result in the formation of The Cure, a quintessential post-punk band whose albums-such as Three Imaginary Boys, Pornography , and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me -remain among the best-loved and most influential of all time.

As two of the first punks in the provincial English town of Crawley, Lol Tolhurst and Robert Smith didn't have it easy. Outsiders from the start, theirs was a friendship based initially on proximity and a shared love of music, from the punk that was raging in nearby London to the groundbreaking experimentation of David Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy." First known as The Easy Cure, they began playing in pubs and soon developed their own unique style and approach to songwriting, resulting in timeless songs that sparked a deep sense of identification and empathy in listeners, songs like "Boys Don't Cry," "Just Like Heaven," and "Why Can't I Be You?," spearheading a new subculture dubbed "Goth" by the press. The music of The Cure was not only accessible but also deeply subversive, challenging conventional notions of pop music and gender roles while inspiring a generation of devoted fans and a revolution in style.

Cured is not only the first insider account of the early days of the band, it is a revealing look at the artistic evolution of the enigmatic Robert Smith, the iconic lead singer, songwriter, and innovative guitarist at the heart of The Cure. A deeply rebellious, sensitive, tough, and often surprisingly "normal" young man, Smith was from the start destined for stardom, a fearless non-conformist and provocateur who soon found his own musical language through which to express his considerable and unique talent.

But there was also a dark side to The Cure's intense and bewildering success. Tolhurst, on drums and keyboards, was nursing a growing alcoholism that would destroy his place in The Cure and nearly end his life. Cured tells the harrowing and unforgettable story of his crash-and-burn, recovery, and rebirth.

Intensely lyrical and evocative, gripping and unforgettable, Cured is the definitive story of a singular band whose legacy endures many decades hence, told from the point of view of a participant and eyewitness who was there when it happened-and even before it all began.]]>
287 Lol Tolhurst 0306824280 Simon 4 4.03 2016 Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys
author: Lol Tolhurst
name: Simon
average rating: 4.03
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A Message to Garcia 62845 48 Elbert Hubbard 159986942X Simon 3 3.61 1899 A Message to Garcia
author: Elbert Hubbard
name: Simon
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1899
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[AZ-104: Azure Administrator Mastery]]> 201965925
Unlock the full potential of Microsoft Azure with this comprehensive book bundle. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced administrator, this bundle has something for everyone. Dive into Azure fundamentals, master identity and resource management, explore advanced networking and storage techniques, and ascend to pro-level automation and optimization.

Book 1 - Azure A Beginner's Guide to Navigating AZ-104 Are you new to Azure or looking to refine your basics? This book is your trusted companion. Learn to navigate the Azure portal, create and manage resources, and grasp core concepts. Start your Azure journey with confidence!

Book 2 - Mastering Identity & Resource Management in A Comprehensive Guide to AZ-104 Identity and resource governance are pivotal in Azure. Master access control, implement robust identity solutions, and enforce compliance through resource management. Become a steward of security and governance in the Azure cloud.

Book 3 - Azure Networking and Storage Advanced Techniques for AZ-104 Administrators Take your expertise to the next level. Design resilient network architectures, optimize connectivity, and harness the power of Azure Storage for diverse data needs. Architect and manage high-performance Azure solutions.

Book 4 - Azure Administrator Pro-Level Automation and Optimization for AZ-104 Automation and optimization are your allies. Streamline operations, optimize resources for cost, performance, and security, and master Azure PowerShell and Azure CLI. Conquer complex Azure challenges with confidence.

This book bundle is your roadmap to Azure excellence. Whether you're an IT professional, administrator, or aspiring cloud architect, these books are your comprehensive guide to Azure Administrator Mastery.

Get ready to embark on a transformative journey through the world of Azure. Unlock the full potential of Microsoft Azure and become a true Azure expert. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your skills and advance your career. Get the " Azure Administrator Mastery" Book Bundle today!


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301 Rob Botwright Simon 1 1.00 AZ-104: Azure Administrator Mastery
author: Rob Botwright
name: Simon
average rating: 1.00
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No real depth. Seems to have been written by AI.
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<![CDATA[City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways]]> 182484308 An eye-opening investigation into how our ever-expanding urban highwaysacceleratedinequality and fractured communities—and a call for a more just, sustainable path forward

Every major American city has a highway tearing through its center. Seventy years ago, planners sold these highways as progress, essential to our future prosperity. The automobile promised freedom, and highways were going to take us there. Instead, they divided cities, displaced people from their homes, chained us to our cars, and locked us into a high-emissions future. And the more highways we built, the worse traffic got. Nowhere is this more visible than in Texas. In Houston, Dallas, and Austin, residents and activists are fighting against massive, multi-billion-dollar highway expansions that will claim thousands of homes and businesses, entrenching segregation and sprawl.

In City Limits, journalist Megan Kimble weaves together the origins of urban highways with the stories of ordinary people impacted by our failed transportation system. In Austin, hundreds of families will lose childcare if a preschool is demolished to make way for Interstate 35. In Houston, a young Black woman will lose her brand-new home for a new lane on Interstate 10—just blocks away from where a seventy-four-year-old nurse lost her home in the 1960s when that same highway was built. And in Dallas, an urban planner has improbably found himself at the center of a national conversation about highway removal. What if, instead of building our aging roads wider and higher, we removed those highways altogether? It’s been done before, first in San Francisco, and more recently, in Rochester, where Kimble traces how highway removal has brought new life to a divided city.

With propulsive storytelling and ground-level reporting, City Limits exposes the enormous social and environmental costs wrought by our allegiance to a life of increasing speed and dispersion, and brings to light the people who are fighting for a more sustainable, connected future.]]>
368 Megan Kimble 0593443780 Simon 0 to-read 4.15 2024 City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways
author: Megan Kimble
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average rating: 4.15
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<![CDATA[The Midlife Cyclist: The Road Map for the +40 Rider Who Wants to Train Hard, Ride Fast and Stay Healthy]]> 50884533
Time's arrow traditionally plots an incremental path into declining strength and speed for all of us. But we are different to every other generation of cyclists in human history. An ever-growing number of us are determined to scale the highest peaks of elite physical fitness into middle-age and beyond. Can the emerging medical and scientific research help us achieve the holy triumvirate of speed and health with age?

The Midlife Cyclist offers a gold standard road-map for the mature cyclist who aims to train, perform and even race at the highest possible level.]]>
288 Phil Cavell 1472961382 Simon 0 4.25 The Midlife Cyclist: The Road Map for the +40 Rider Who Wants to Train Hard, Ride Fast and Stay Healthy
author: Phil Cavell
name: Simon
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<![CDATA[I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers]]> 33606660 96 Guinevere de la Mare 1452155119 Simon 0 3.55 2017 I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers
author: Guinevere de la Mare
name: Simon
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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I Am Ozzy 6952423 I Am Ozzy 391 Ozzy Osbourne 0446569895 Simon 0 to-read 4.08 2009 I Am Ozzy
author: Ozzy Osbourne
name: Simon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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Girl in a Band 22693211 273 Kim Gordon 0062295896 Simon 3 3.66 2015 Girl in a Band
author: Kim Gordon
name: Simon
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2015
rating: 3
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House of Leaves 24800
Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story—of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.]]>
710 Mark Z. Danielewski Simon 0 to-read 4.11 2000 House of Leaves
author: Mark Z. Danielewski
name: Simon
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2000
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Mexican Gothic 53152636
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]>
320 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 0525620788 Simon 3 3.66 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Simon
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 3
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Ikigai 13306525 yourself obsessively to a path.

Ikigai's closest meaning is *raison d'être* in French--what one lives for, what makes your life worth living, why you inhale and exhale each
breath.

But Ikigai goes further than that, to the point where your passions and obsessions can consume you ... think of the artist or inventor all-consumed
by his work, the boxer who lays his body and mind on the line in every fight, or the gardener whose mind is perfectly still among his creation.

Have you found your Ikigai yet? This book is for you.

In a series of essays on philosophy, history, strategy, planning, and achieving, this book is about living purposefully and with meaning.]]>
281 Sebastian Marshall Simon 0 to-read 3.65 2011 Ikigai
author: Sebastian Marshall
name: Simon
average rating: 3.65
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<![CDATA[Love & Pain : The Epic Times and Crooked Lines of Life Inside and Outside Silverchair]]> 199175604
It all began in Ben Gillies' garage - where three high school kids from Newcastle, New South Wales, created magic with their smash-hit single 'Tomorrow', setting them on a path to domination of the Australian charts, worldwide touring and fame.

So much has been written about Silverchair over the years but very little has been said by the band's members. In Love & Pain, drummer Ben Gillies and bass player Chris Joannou retrace their footsteps from childhood friends living across the road from each other, and share their often hilarious, wild and unforgettable stories from the rock 'n' roll spotlight, along with the exhilarating highs and heart-wrenching lows they faced along the way.

There was also all the love and pain that came from being in the band: the cost of fame and intense pressure on two teenagers who had no way of preparing for it, and the complex dynamics of navigating friendships with each other and their relationships with friends and family members, the mistakes they made and the successes they cherished. Gillies and Joannou write with vulnerability and raw and blistering honesty, making for an extraordinary account of a band adored by so many.]]>
352 Ben Gillies 0733649785 Simon 0 4.11 Love & Pain : The Epic Times and Crooked Lines of Life Inside and Outside Silverchair
author: Ben Gillies
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<![CDATA[The 12-Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life]]> 59364092 “A master class in athleticism, resilience, and human potential.� —Hoda Kotb, Today From the New York Times bestselling author of The Impossible First, an inspiring blend of riveting adventure stories and life-changing wisdom that teaches us how to embark on a transformative one-day journey that will unlock our best lives.Millions of people dream of living a more fulfilling life, yet many settle for a life of comfortable complacency, allowing excuses and negative thoughts to invade their minds. I don’t have enough time…I don’t have enough money…I’m afraid to fail...I don’t have what it takes—we allow these limiting beliefs to control us. Now, The 12-Hour Walk provides the inspiration—and catalyst—for getting unstuck and realizing your full potential. Featuring life lessons from explorer, endurance athlete, and entrepreneur Colin O’Brady—whose adventures in such extreme places as Antarctica and the perilous Drake Passage and on the peaks of Mount Everest and K2 have seen him establish ten world records—this book’s vivid narrative and powerful insight will show you how you can embark on your own life-changing journey. With Colin as your guide, The 12-Hour Walk asks you to invest one day in yourself. By walking alone, unplugging, listening to the voice within, and rewriting the limiting beliefs etched into your psyche, you can break free of the patterns holding you back and learn how to cultivate a “Possible Mindset”—an empowered way of thinking that unlocks a life of limitless possibilities. The being the hero of your own destiny.]]> 252 Colin O'Brady 198213318X Simon 0 3.82 The 12-Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life
author: Colin O'Brady
name: Simon
average rating: 3.82
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<![CDATA[Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division]]> 15818498
Now, for the first time, their story is told by one of their own. In Unknown Pleasures, founding member and bass player Peter Hook recounts how four young men from Manchester and Salisbury, with makeshift instruments and a broken-down van, rose from the punk scene to create a haunting, atmospheric music that would define a generation. Peter talks with eye-opening candor and reflection about the suicide of Ian Curtis; the band's friendships and fallouts; the evolution of their sound and image; and the larger-than-life characters who formed a vital part of the Joy Division legend, including Factory Records founder Tony Wilson and producer Martin Hannett. Told with surprising humor and vivid detail, Unknown Pleasures is the book Joy Division fans have awaited for decades.]]>
416 Peter Hook 0062222562 Simon 0 to-read 4.13 2012 Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division
author: Peter Hook
name: Simon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
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Artemis 34928122
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.]]>
305 Andy Weir 0553448129 Simon 0 to-read 3.66 2017 Artemis
author: Andy Weir
name: Simon
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2017
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<![CDATA[The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music]]> 57648017
Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.

This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.]]>
384 Dave Grohl 0063076098 Simon 0 4.44 2021 The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
author: Dave Grohl
name: Simon
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
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<![CDATA[Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality]]> 499917
As an insider's view on Hip-Hop culture slides into intimate revelations about his own life, as lyrics from his songs bump shoulders with top ten lists like "The Greatest Rappers of All Time," Chuck D has his say with verve and electrifying energy, with anger, love and truth.A book that brings light into darkness, Fight the Power speaks for a generation.It is a powerful and prophetic message that America, both Black and White, urgently needs to hear.

Nightline with Chuck as the featured guest.

His rejection of celebrity and his constant community activism have made him a hero. For the past five years he's been touring colleges and universities, delivering three hour lectures on everything from the music industry's corruption of young talent, the history of black music from Blues to Rap, his own controversial lyrics, problems in the black community, self-empowerment, contemporary culture and current political leaders to Public Enemy's rise to international stardom. All while maintaining his solo and Public Enemy's recording careers.

Fight the Power examines a multitude of complex social, racial and artistic issues. In his unmistakable voice, Chuck discusses the role of heroes and role models in the black community, Hollywood's negative images of blacks, the effect of gangsta rap, its images on the country's youth and the war between east and west coast rappers that may have spawned the murder of Tupac Shakur, the role of athletes and entertainers in eroding and strengthening values, and other vital contemporary concerns. Candid, thoughtful, and in your face, Fight the Power, the first substantial book by a rapper, offers readers a look into the culture of hip hop and the future of Black culture. -->]]>
288 Yusuf Jah 0385318731 Simon 0 3.75 1997 Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality
author: Yusuf Jah
name: Simon
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1997
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<![CDATA[Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention� and How to Think Deeply Again]]> 57933306 Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening--and how to get our attention back.

In the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions--even abandoning his phone for three months--but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention--and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong.

We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers' productivity.

Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus--as individuals, and as a society--if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.]]>
357 Johann Hari 0593138511 Simon 0 4.22 2022 Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention— and How to Think Deeply Again
author: Johann Hari
name: Simon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2022
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<![CDATA[The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober]]> 37754223
Catherine Gray was stuck in a hellish whirligig of Drink, Make horrible decisions, Hangover, Repeat. She had her fair share of 'drunk tank' jail cells and topless-in-a-hot-tub misadventures. But this book goes beyond the binges and blackouts to deep-dive into uncharted territory: What happens after you quit drinking? This gripping, heart-breaking and witty book takes us down the rabbit-hole of an alternative reality. A life with zero hangovers, through sober weddings, sex, Christmases and breakups.

In The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, Catherine Gray shines a light on society's drink-pushing and talks to top neuroscientists and psychologists about why we drink, delving into the science behind what it does to our brains and bodies. Much more than a tale from the netherworld of addicted drinking, this book is about the escape, and why a sober life can be more intoxicating than you ever imagined. Whether you're a hopelessly devoted drinker, merely sober-curious, or you've already ditched the drink, you will love this book.]]>
274 Catherine Gray 1912023415 Simon 0 4.31 2017 The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober
author: Catherine Gray
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average rating: 4.31
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<![CDATA[Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark]]> 55809879 The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself.

On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35% of her body, and the prognosis wasn't good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra built model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula, and idolized Vincent Price.

Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley, changed the course of her life forever, and led her to Europe where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv group, The Groundlings, and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens, honing her comedic skills.

Nearing age 30, a struggling actress considered past her prime, she auditioned at local LA channel KHJ as hostess for the late night vintage horror movies. Cassandra improvised, made the role her own, and got the job on the spot.Yours Cruelly, Elvirais an unforgettably wild memoir. Cassandra doesn't shy away from revealing exactly who she is and how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. Always original and sometimes outrageous, her story is loaded with twists, travails, revelry, and downright shocking experiences. It is the candid, often funny, and sometimes heart-breaking tale of a Midwest farm girl's long strange trip to become the world's sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.]]>
284 Cassandra Peterson 0306874350 Simon 0 4.36 2021 Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark
author: Cassandra Peterson
name: Simon
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2021
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Beastie Boys Book 38799788 A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself--by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.

Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam "ADROCK" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the debut album that became the first hip hop record ever to hit #1, Licensed to Ill--and the album's messy fallout as the band broke with Def Jam; their move to Los Angeles and rebirth with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul's Boutique; their evolution as musicians and social activists over the course of the classic albums Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty and the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits conceived by the late Adam "MCA" Yauch; and more. For more than thirty years, this band has had an inescapable and indelible influence on popular culture.

With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys' New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises.]]>
572 Michael Diamond 0812995546 Simon 0 to-read 4.54 2018 Beastie Boys Book
author: Michael Diamond
name: Simon
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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White Noise 28251250
White Noise tells the story of Jack Gladney, his fourth wife, Babette, and four ultra­modern offspring as they navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event," a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys—radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings—pulsing with life, yet suggesting something ominous.

Part of the Penguin Orange Collection, a limited-run series of twelve influential and beloved American classics in a bold series design offering a modern take on the iconic Penguin paperback

Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition]]>
320 Don DeLillo 0143129554 Simon 0 to-read 3.88 1985 White Noise
author: Don DeLillo
name: Simon
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1985
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It]]> 19661852
“A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero

At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered.

Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day.

This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.]]>
326 Gabriel Wyner Simon 0 4.07 2014 Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It
author: Gabriel Wyner
name: Simon
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2014
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<![CDATA[Never Give Up: My Life in the Wild]]> 58340858 Man vs. Wild and the acclaimed NGC series Running Wild, global adventurer Bear Grylls has explored places few would dare to go. Now, he shares time-honored lessons for leading an adventurous life through stories drawn from his personal experiences, as well as encounters with a diverse group of celebrities who have participated in his wildly popular television shows.

Inthese inspiring pages, Grylls chronicles his life since stepping onto the small screen, taking readers on his most famous adventures, sharing stories from his favorite expeditions, and capturing his hairiest survival challenges. The followup to the internationally best-selling Mud, Sweat and Tears, this new autobiography goes behind the scenes on infamous Man vs. Wild shoots and provides an insight into what it's really like to “Run Wild� with guests including President Obama, Roger Federer, and Julia Roberts.

Along the way, Bear explores the valuable lessons he's learned in the wild, opens up about his most personal challenges and achievements, and celebrates the true value of adventure and the enduring importance of courage, kindness, and resilience. Written for outdoor enthusiasts and armchair adventurers alike, Never Give Up offers an inspiring path to help readers live their best lives.]]>
336 Bear Grylls 1426222629 Simon 0 3.80 Never Give Up: My Life in the Wild
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average rating: 3.80
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Nina Simone's Gum 56255153 I hadn't opened the towel that contained her gum since 2013. The last person to touch it was Nina Simone, her saliva and fingerprints unsullied. The idea that it was still in her towel was something I had drawn strength from. I thought each time I opened it some of Nina Simone's spirit would vanish. In many ways that thought was more important than the gum itself.

On Thursday 1 July, 1999, Dr Nina Simone gave a rare performance as part of Nick Cave's Meltdown Festival. After the show, in a state of awe, Warren Ellis crept onto the stage, took Dr Simone's piece of chewed gum from the piano, wrapped it in her stage towel and put it in a Tower Records bag. The gum remained with him for twenty years; a sacred totem, his creative muse, a conduit that would eventually take Ellis back to his childhood and his relationship with found objects, growing in significance with every passing year.]]>
199 Warren Ellis 0571365620 Simon 4 4.26 2021 Nina Simone's Gum
author: Warren Ellis
name: Simon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)]]> 26082916 An unexpected quest. Two worlds at stake. Are you ready?

Days after winning Oasis founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything.

Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the Oasis a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible.

With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize.

And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who'll kill millions to get what he wants.

Wade's life and the future of the Oasis are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.]]>
370 Ernest Cline 1524761338 Simon 4 3.39 2020 Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Simon
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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AWOL on the Appalachian Trail 610470 236 David "Awol" Miller 1595940561 Simon 0 3.96 2006 AWOL on the Appalachian Trail
author: David "Awol" Miller
name: Simon
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2006
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<![CDATA[Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief (Arsène Lupin, #1)]]> 141270 Librarian note: This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780143104865.

The suave adventures of a gentleman rogue—a French Thomas Crown Created by Maurice LeBlanc during the early twentieth century, Arsene Lupin is a witty confidence man and burglar, the Sherlock Holmes of crime. The poor and innocent have nothing to fear from him; often they profit from his spontaneous generosity. The rich and powerful, and the detective who tries to spoil his fun, however, must beware. They are the target of Arsene’s mischief and tomfoolery. A masterful thief, his plans frequently evolve into elaborate capers, a precursor to such cinematic creations as Ocean’s Eleven and The Sting. Sparkling with amusing banter, these stories—the best of the Lupin series—are outrageous, melodramatic, and literate.

13 stories:
The Arrest of Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin in Prison
The Escape of Arsène Lupin
The Mysterious Railway Passenger
The Queen's Necklace
Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late
Flashes of Sunlight
The Wedding-ring
The Red Silk Scarf
Edith Swan-neck
On the Top of the Tower
Thérèse and Germaine
At the Sign of Mercury]]>
279 Maurice Leblanc Simon 0 to-read 3.85 1907 Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief (Arsène Lupin, #1)
author: Maurice Leblanc
name: Simon
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1907
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Take Risks 59134624 Life is a thrilling adventure.
Our children get only rare glimpses of the possibilities.
To roam, to dare, to fail . . . these are the rights of children.

John Marsden, the award-winning, bestselling author of the Tomorrow series, has spent his life educating kids and teenagers. He is passionate about the need to prepare them in all ways for the demands of adulthood.

As the founder and principal of two schools - Candlebark and Alice Miller - John has put his theories to the test and seen the empowering results of his methods.

Take Risks is the compelling memoir of a revered author and educator, and a forthright discussion on teaching, parenting and society as a whole.]]>
455 John Marsden 1760988766 Simon 0 to-read 3.40 Take Risks
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Picnic at Hanging Rock 791345
Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared.

They never returned.

Whether Picnic at Hanging Rock is fact or fiction the reader must decide for themselves.]]>
189 Joan Lindsay 0099750619 Simon 0 to-read 3.65 1967 Picnic at Hanging Rock
author: Joan Lindsay
name: Simon
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1967
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Stumbling Thru: Hike Your Own Hike]]> 17355356 278 A. Digger Stolz 0615763583 Simon 0 to-read 4.07 2013 Stumbling Thru: Hike Your Own Hike
author: A. Digger Stolz
name: Simon
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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Mud, Sweat and Tears 10910164 352 Bear Grylls 190502648X Simon 0 to-read 4.15 2011 Mud, Sweat and Tears
author: Bear Grylls
name: Simon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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The Sun Also Rises 3876 The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.]]> 189 Ernest Hemingway Simon 2 3.81 1926 The Sun Also Rises
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Simon
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1926
rating: 2
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<![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]>
480 Ernest Cline 030788743X Simon 5 4.21 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Simon
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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<![CDATA[Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life]]> 49994260 Unlock the full potential of your brain, learn faster, and achieve your goals with this instant New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller from Jim Kwik, the world’s #1 brain coach. This ultimate brain training book is packed with practical techniques to help you level-up your mental performance and transform your life. “There’s no genius pill, but Jim gives you the process for unlocking your best brain and brightest future. Just like you want a healthy body, you want a flexible, strong, energized, and fit brain. That’s what Jim does for a living—he is the personal trainer for the mind.� � Mark Hyman, M.D., Head of Strategy and Innovation, Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, author of 12 New York Times best-selling books For over 25 years, Jim Kwik has worked closely with successful men and women who are at the top in their fields as actors, athletes, CEOs, and business leaders from all walks of life to unlock their true potential. In Limitless, he reveals the science-based practices and field-tested tips to accelerate self-learning, communication, memory, focus, recall, and speed reading, to create amazing results. Limitless is the ultimate transformation book and gives people the ability to accomplish more--more productivity, more transformation, more personal success and business achievement--by changing their Mindset, Motivation, and Methods. These �3 M’s� live in the pages of Limitless along with practical techniques that unlock the superpowers of your brain and change your habits. Learn how FLIP YOUR MINDSET Identify and challenge the assumptions, habits, and procrastinations that limit you and expand the boundaries of what you believe is possible. IGNITE YOUR MOTIVATION By uncovering your passions, purposes, and sources of energy, you can stay focused and clear on your goals. Uncovering what motivates you is the key that opens up limitless mental capacity. This is where Passion + Purpose + Energy meet to move you closer to your goals, while staying focused and clear. MASTER THE METHOD Accelerate learning, improve memory, and enhance brain performance Jim Kwik applies the latest neuroscience for accelerated learning, and will help you finish a book 3x faster through speed reading (and remember every part of it), learn a new language in record time, and master new skills with ease. “What you’ll get within these pages is a series of tools that will help you cast off your perceived restrictions. You’re going to learn how to unlimit your brain. You’re going to learn how to unlimit your drive. You’re going to learn how to unlimit your memory, your focus, and your habits. If I am your mentor in your hero’s journey, then this book is your map to master your mind, motivation, and methods to learn how to learn. And once you’ve done that, you will be limitless.� –Jim Kwik Packed with tips and techniques to improve memory, focus, recall, and speed reading, this brain training book is the perfect gift for anyone looking to transform their life."]]> 343 Jim Kwik 1401958249 Simon 4 4.07 Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life
author: Jim Kwik
name: Simon
average rating: 4.07
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rating: 4
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Eating Animals 6604712 Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his life oscillating between enthusiastic carnivore and occasional vegetarian. Once he started a family, the moral dimensions of food became increasingly important.


Faced with the prospect of being unable to explain why we eat some animals and not others, Foer set out to explore the origins of many eating traditions and the fictions involved with creating them. Traveling to the darkest corners of our dining habits, Foer raises the unspoken question behind every fish we eat, every chicken we fry, and every burger we grill.


Part memoir and part investigative report, Eating Animals is a book that, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, places Jonathan Safran Foer "at the table with our greatest philosophers."
]]>
341 Jonathan Safran Foer 0316069906 Simon 3 4.20 2009 Eating Animals
author: Jonathan Safran Foer
name: Simon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2009
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)]]> 386162
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!]]>
193 Douglas Adams Simon 0 to-read 4.28 1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Simon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1979
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<![CDATA[Spartan Up!: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life]]> 19583491
De Sena’s prescription for life’s insurmountable obstacles is to get off the couch and crush them through hard work and force of will. A legend in the ultramarathon community, he created Spartan Race, extreme obstacle races where no one knows what to expect, but to finish is to be transformed. Spartan Race drives participants to their very limit to learn what they are capable of and to set a new frame of reference; one they can draw upon in the face of life’s harshest challenges. Everyday disappointments and setbacks seem small when you’ve been to the other side of hell and made it back as a victor.

In SPARTAN UP! De Sena paints a picture of how he created the Spartan way of life, beginning with an unexpected challenge by a friend that got him back into shape through endurance racing. After that first race, De Sena completed more than 50 ultramarathons (in conditions ranging from -30 to 120 degrees) and 14 Ironman events, including the 135-mile Badwater ultramarathon, the 140.6 Lake Placid Ironman, and a 100-mile Vermont trail run—in a single week. The harder the race the more he loved it; he was hooked.

SPARTAN UP! is more than an insider’s view of the world of obstacle racing, it’s a manual for the Spartan way of life, including :

� Finding the will to succeed: The first half of a race you run with your legs; the second half you run with your mind. Turn your pain into an outboard motor to drive you forward.
� Tossing your cookies: The Cookie Test can teach you how to overcome the need for immediate gratification and help you prosper in the long term.
� Changing your frame of reference: Reset your inner default as an antidote to dissatisfaction and the insatiable need for “more.�
� Getting Spartan fit: Survival of the Fittest means training outside the gym for strength, endurance and flexibility throughout the entire body—and don’t forget those burpees!
� Moving mountains: Whether metaphorical mountains or the ones on which Spartans race, what you think are your limits can be a mere starting point for transformation.

Age, gender, and physical ability are no barrier and finishers become entirely new people, without limitations, living life to the fullest. That’s why the Spartans say: “You’ll know at the finish line.�

JOE DE SENA is a cofounder of Spartan Race, which began as an obstacle race based on the extreme spirit of the legendary Death Race, and has become a multi-million dollar global lifestyle company in less than 10 years. It was voted Outside magazine’s Best Obstacle Race. In one year’s time he competed in the Raid International Ukatak in Canada; the IditaSport in Alaska; the Odyssey Adventure Race and the OAR Beast of the East, both in Virginia; the Raid the North Extreme in Newfoundland, the Adrenaline Rush in Ireland and the Discovery Channel World Championships in Switzerland. He resides in Vermont with his family. For more information, please visit .]]>
224 Joe De Sena 0544286170 Simon 4 3.88 2014 Spartan Up!: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life
author: Joe De Sena
name: Simon
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life]]> 27202127
This Naked Mind offers a new solution. Packed with surprising insight into the reasons we drink, it will open your eyes to the startling role of alcohol in our culture. Annie Grace brilliantly weaves psychological, neurological, cultural, social and industry factors with her extraordinarily candid journey resulting in a must read for anyone who drinks.

This book, without scare tactics, pain or rules, gives you freedom from alcohol. By addressing causes rather than symptoms it is a permanent solution rather than lifetime struggle. It removes the psychological dependence allowing you to easily drink less (or stop drinking). Annie’s clarity, humor and unique ability to blend original research with riveting storytelling ensures you will thoroughly enjoy the process.

In a world defined by ‘never enough� Annie takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of alcohol and specifically the connection between alcohol and pleasure. She dispels the cultural myth that alcohol is a vital part of life and demonstrates how regaining control over alcohol is not only essential to personal happiness and fulfillment but also to ending the heartache experienced by millions as a result of secondhand drinking.

Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to the life you have been waiting for.

Read this book. You’ll be glad you did.]]>
271 Annie Grace Simon 4 4.16 2015 This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
author: Annie Grace
name: Simon
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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No Logo 647 No Logo employs journalistic savvy and personal testament to detail the insidious practices and far-reaching effects of corporate marketing—and the powerful potential of a growing activist sect that will surely alter the course of the 21st century. First published before the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, this is an infuriating, inspiring, and altogether pioneering work of cultural criticism that investigates money, marketing, and the anti-corporate movement.

As global corporations compete for the hearts and wallets of consumers who not only buy their products but willingly advertise them from head to toe—witness today's schoolbooks, superstores, sporting arenas, and brand-name synergy—a new generation has begun to battle consumerism with its own best weapons. In this provocative, well-written study, a front-line report on that battle, we learn how the Nike swoosh has changed from an athletic status-symbol to a metaphor for sweatshop labor, how teenaged McDonald's workers are risking their jobs to join the Teamsters, and how "culture jammers" utilize spray paint, computer-hacking acumen, and anti-propagandist wordplay to undercut the slogans and meanings of billboard ads (as in "Joe Chemo" for "Joe Camel").

No Logo will challenge and enlighten students of sociology, economics, popular culture, international affairs, and marketing.

"This book is not another account of the power of the select group of corporate Goliaths that have gathered to form our de facto global government. Rather, it is an attempt to analyze and document the forces opposing corporate rule, and to lay out the particular set of cultural and economic conditions that made the emergence of that opposition inevitable." —Naomi Klein, from her Introduction]]>
528 Naomi Klein 0312421435 Simon 4 3.89 2000 No Logo
author: Naomi Klein
name: Simon
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2000
rating: 4
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Dune (Dune, #1) 44767458
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.]]>
658 Frank Herbert 059309932X Simon 0 to-read 4.33 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)
author: Frank Herbert
name: Simon
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1965
rating: 0
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Slash 1970449 458 Slash 0061351423 Simon 3 3.99 2007 Slash
author: Slash
name: Simon
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2007
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[Bad Seed: The Biography of Nick Cave]]> 159145
Through Cave's fronting of the incendiary bands The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds, producing music of unfettered expression and explosive intensity, to his creative collaborations outside of the rock industry in film and literature, BAD SEED illustrates a life lived in barely controlled chaos: and unravels the motivation and unique appeal of a reluctant icon whose songs, according to the Rolling Stones, possess "the authority of the most primal kind of myth."]]>
335 Ian Johnston 0316908339 Simon 4 3.79 1996 Bad Seed: The Biography of Nick Cave
author: Ian Johnston
name: Simon
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1996
rating: 4
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1984 40961427 Nineteen Eighty-Four is a rare work that grows more haunting as its futuristic purgatory becomes more real. Published in 1949, the book offers political satirist George Orwell's nightmarish vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff's attempt to find individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell's prescience of modern life—the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language—and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Required reading for students since it was published, it ranks among the most terrifying novels ever written.]]> 298 George Orwell Simon 3 4.24 1949 1984
author: George Orwell
name: Simon
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1949
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[Confessions of a Crypto Millionaire]]> 50073937
"Five out of Five Stars. Reading this book was nothing short of thrilling." � Manhattan Book Review

At the start of this riveting memoir, Dan Conway is a brash young executive in a vast corporation, slogging his way up the ladder while struggling with depression and an addiction he thought he had defeated long ago. As he begins to realize that the mix of nightmarish bureaucracy and his unruly "flip side" have doomed any chance of success, Dan stumbles upon cryptocurrency, tumbling down the rabbit hole to discover a strange, anarchic, but captivating world. He decides to wager everything—his savings, his marriage, his family, his future—on the fledgling crypto, Ether.

In Confessions of a Crypto Millionaire, readers join Dan on a rollicking, harrowing, frequently hilarious journey, including his: struggle to rise through the corporate ranks; battle with addiction and its aftermath; bid to reinvent himself; efforts to hold his marriage and family together; and the costs–and thrills–of risking it all.

"For Conway, crypto was only partly about the money. It was also about finding liberation and salvation." � Forbes

Dan details in a non-technical and non-preachy way how the idea of blockchain-based decentralization has convinced a generation of dreamers, misfits and gamblers to too often bet more than they can afford to lose. He illustrates how public blockchains like Ethereum could disrupt the nature of work itself in the coming years, upending stultifying centralized corporations in favor of "trust machines" and peer-to-peer cooperation. In the process, readers take a thrilling ride with Dan on a turbocharged adventure through crypto, not knowing if he will make history or lose everything he holds dear.]]>
201 Dan Conway 173317172X Simon 3 4.21 Confessions of a Crypto Millionaire
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average rating: 4.21
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<![CDATA[Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World]]> 25744928 One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way.

In Deep Work, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.

A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, Deep Work takes the reader on a journey through memorable stories-from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air-and no-nonsense advice, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored. Deep Work is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world.]]>
296 Cal Newport 1455586692 Simon 3 4.16 2016 Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
author: Cal Newport
name: Simon
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2016
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win]]> 17255186
The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is massively over budget and very late. The CEO wants Bill to report directly to him and fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department will be outsourced.

With the help of a prospective board member and his mysterious philosophy of The Three Ways, Bill starts to see that IT work has more in common with manufacturing plant work than he ever imagined. With the clock ticking, Bill must organize work flow streamline interdepartmental communications, and effectively serve the other business functions at Parts Unlimited.

In a fast-paced and entertaining style, three luminaries of the DevOps movement deliver a story that anyone who works in IT will recognize. Readers will not only learn how to improve their own IT organizations, they'll never view IT the same way again.]]>
345 Gene Kim 0988262592 Simon 4 4.23 2013 The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
author: Gene Kim
name: Simon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations]]> 26083308
More than ever, the effective management of technology is critical for business competitiveness. For decades, technology leaders have struggled to balance agility, reliability, and security. The consequences of failure have never been greater whether it's the healthcare.gov debacle, cardholder data breaches, or missing the boat with Big Data in the cloud.

And yet, high performers using DevOps principles, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Etsy, and Netflix, are routinely and reliably deploying code into production hundreds, or even thousands, of times per day.

Following in the footsteps of The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook shows leaders how to replicate these incredible outcomes, by showing how to integrate Product Management, Development, QA, IT Operations, and Information Security to elevate your company and win in the marketplace."

Table of contents

Preface
Spreading the Aha! Moment
Introduction

PART I: THE THREE WAYS
1. Agile, continuous delivery and the three ways
2. The First Way: The Principles of Flow
3. The Second Way: The Principle of Feedback
4. The Third Way: The Principles of Continual Learning

PART II: WHERE TO START
5. Selecting which value stream to start with
6. Understanding the work in our value stream�
7. How to design our organization and architecture
8. How to get great outcomes by integrating operations into the daily work for development

PART III: THE FIRST WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF FLOW
9. Create the foundations of our deployment pipeline
10. Enable fast and reliable automated testing
11. Enable and practice continuous integration
12. Automate and enable low-risk releases
13. Architect for low-risk releases

PART IV: THE SECOND WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF FEEDBACK
14*. Create telemetry to enable seeing abd solving problems
15. Analyze telemetry to better anticipate problems
16. Enable feedbackso development and operation can safely deploy code
17. Integrate hypothesis-driven development and A/B testing into our daily work
18. Create review and coordination processes to increase quality of our current work

PART V: THE THRID WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF CONTINUAL LEARNING
19. Enable and inject learning into daily work
20. Convert local discoveries into global improvements
21. Reserve time to create organizational learning
22. Information security as everyone’s job, every day
23. Protecting the deployment pipeline

PART VI: CONCLUSION
A call to action
Conclusion to the DevOps Handbook

APPENDICES
1. The convergence of Devops
2. The theory of constraints and core chronic conflicts
3. Tabular form of downward spiral
4. The dangers of handoffs and queues
5. Myths of industrial safety
6. The Toyota Andon Cord
7. COTS Software
8. Post-mortem meetings
9. The Simian Army
10. Transparent uptime

Additional Resources
Endnotes]]>
442 Gene Kim 1942788002 Simon 4 to-read 4.28 2015 The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations
author: Gene Kim
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average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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<![CDATA[The Unicorn Project (The Phoenix Project)]]> 44333183 352 Gene Kim 1942788762 Simon 4 4.02 2019 The Unicorn Project (The Phoenix Project)
author: Gene Kim
name: Simon
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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Scar Tissue 96647 New York Times bestseller by one of rock's most provocative figures Scar Tissue is Anthony Kiedis's searingly honest memoir of a life spent in the fast lane.

In 1983, four self-described "knuckleheads" burst out of the mosh-pitted mosaic of the neo-punk rock scene in L.A. with their own unique brand of cosmic hardcore mayhem funk. Over twenty years later, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group's lyricist and dynamic lead singer, has been there for the whole roller-coaster ride. Whether he's recollecting the influence of the beautiful, strong women who have been his muses, or retracing a journey that has included appearances as diverse as a performance before half a million people at Woodstock or an audience of one at the humble compound of the exiled Dalai Lama, Kiedis shares a compelling story about the price of success and excess.

Scar Tissue is a story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption--a story that could only have come out of the world of rock.]]>
465 Anthony Kiedis 1401307450 Simon 5 4.11 2004 Scar Tissue
author: Anthony Kiedis
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average rating: 4.11
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Acid for the Children 39667068
But the family soon fell apart. 'I was raised in a very violent, alcoholic household,' Flea later said. 'I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life.' He began smoking weed at 13 and became a daily user of harder drugs. He was on the streets by 14 and soon after, met another social outcast and drug user named Anthony Kiedis. They formed a band that would become the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Acid for the Children is pure, uncut Flea, with nothing left unsaid.]]>
390 Flea 1472230825 Simon 4 4.07 2019 Acid for the Children
author: Flea
name: Simon
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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The Death of Bunny Munro 6389257 288 Nick Cave 1847673767 Simon 4 3.46 2009 The Death of Bunny Munro
author: Nick Cave
name: Simon
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2009
rating: 4
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