Varun's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 31 May 2025 07:23:36 -0700 60 Varun's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Educated 35133922
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.]]> 352 Tara Westover 0399590501 Varun 0 to-read 4.46 2018 Educated
author: Tara Westover
name: Varun
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)]]> 40864002 ASIN B08H831J18 moved to the more recent edition

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?]]> 151 Becky Chambers Varun 4 4.24 2021 A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
author: Becky Chambers
name: Varun
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/24
date added: 2025/05/24
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review:

]]> The Singularity Trap 35269854
While investigating a promising asteroid, Ivan triggers an extraterrestrial booby trap, which squirts a strange liquid substance onto his arm. The next morning, he wakes up to find his forearm turning into living metal. Soon his other limbs begin to change, and worse yet, there’s an artificial intelligence growing in his head and talking to him. As alien nanites eat his ship out from under him, the AI reveals its to convert the solar system and the human race into a war machine meant to fight in an interstellar battle that has raged for millions of years.

To save his family—and the human race—Ivan will need to play a deadly game of brinkmanship with the military, all the while hiding his plans from both his crewmates and the alien computer residing in his brain.]]> 12 Dennis E. Taylor Varun 0 to-read 3.99 2018 The Singularity Trap
author: Dennis E. Taylor
name: Varun
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heaven's River (Bobiverse, #4)]]> 56078386 Civil war looms in the Bobiverse in this brand-new, epic-length adventure by best seller Dennis E. Taylor.

More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate—whatever the cost.

But nothing is ever simple in the Bobiverse. Bob’s descendants are out to the 24th generation now, and replicative drift has produced individuals who can barely be considered Bobs anymore. Some of them oppose Bob’s plan; others have plans of their own. The out-of-control moots are the least of the Bobiverse’s problems.

Undaunted, Bob and his allies follow Bender’s trail. But what they discover out in deep space is so unexpected and so complex that it could either save the universe—or pose an existential threat the likes of which the Bobiverse has never faced.]]> 608 Dennis E. Taylor 1680682105 Varun 0 to-read 4.39 2020 Heaven's River (Bobiverse, #4)
author: Dennis E. Taylor
name: Varun
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Not Till We Are Lost (Bobiverse #5)]]> 222457771
But it all pales compared to what Icarus and Daedalus discover on their 26,000-year journey to the center of the galaxy. Sure, it could settle the Fermi Paradox for good (and what Bob doesn’t want to solve a mystery of the universe?). But it also reveals a threat to the galaxy greater than anything the Bobs could have imagined.

Just another average day in the Bobiverse.]]> 413 Dennis E. Taylor 1680683454 Varun 0 to-read 4.48 2024 Not Till We Are Lost (Bobiverse #5)
author: Dennis E. Taylor
name: Varun
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)]]> 20764879
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games--an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries--a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.]]> 512 V.E. Schwab 0765376474 Varun 0 currently-reading 4.20 2016 A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Varun
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)]]> 203578847 The long-awaited explosive climax to the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive―the iconic epic fantasy masterpiece that has sold more than 10 million copies, from acclaimed bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.

Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azimir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah at Thaylen City. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.

At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiants killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 1344 Brandon Sanderson 1250319188 Varun 5 4.34 2024 Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/15
date added: 2025/05/16
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]]> <![CDATA[A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories]]> 122754906 Far away and long ago, when dragons still existed and the only arcade game was ping-pong in black and white, a wizard cautiously entered a smoky tavern in the evil, ancient, foggy city of Morpork...

A truly unmissable, beautifully illustrated collection of unearthed stories from the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett: award-winning and bestselling author, and creator of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.

Twenty early short stories by one of the world's best loved authors, each accompanied by exquisite original woodcut illustrations.

These are rediscovered tales that Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym for newspapers during the 1970s and 1980s. Whilst none are set in the Discworld, they hint towards the world he would go on to create, containing all of his trademark wit, satirical wisdom and fantastic imagination.

Meet Og the inventor, the first caveman to cultivate fire, as he discovers the highs and lows of progress; haunt the Ministry of Nuisances with the defiant evicted ghosts of Pilgarlic Towers; visit Blackbury, a small market town with weird weather and an otherworldly visitor; and go on a dangerous quest through time and space with hero Kron, which begins in the ancient city of Morpork...]]> 240 Terry Pratchett 0857529633 Varun 3 3.98 2023 A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Varun
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/29
date added: 2025/04/29
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]]> The Original 54615879 Hugo Award-winning authors Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal team up in this exclusive audio-first production of The Original, a sci-fi thriller set in a world where one woman fights to know her true identity and survive the forces that threaten her very existence.

In the near future, humans choose life - for a price. Injectable nanite technology is the lifeblood that flows through every individual wishing to experience the world through the lens of their own theme. While death from mortal wounds is still possible, life is made easier in a socially liberated society where automation and income equality allow passion pursuits to flourish over traditional work. Renewal stations are provided to every law-abiding citizen for weekly check-ins, which issue life-sustaining repairs in exchange for personal privacy. But what becomes of those who check out, of those who dare to resist immortality and risk being edited under the gaze of an identity-extracting government surveillance system?

When Holly Winseed wakes up in a hospital room, her memory compromised and a new identity imposed on her, a team of government agents wastes no time stating their objective. With intent to infiltrate and defeat the terrorist group ICON, the agents tell Holly that she is now a Provisional Replica and has one week to hunt down and kill her Original for the murder of her husband, Jonathan. If she succeeds, she’ll assume her Original’s place in society. If she fails, her life will end. Holly’s progress is monitored by an assigned contact that feeds her information as she confronts the blank, robotic world around her, discovering that others view life through the theme of their own choosing.

With her newly implanted combat and deduction skills, Holly fends off both attacks by terrorists and doubts about her own trustworthiness as clues lead her to her Original - and to the truth about Jonathan. In the end, one body remains and one walks away. Although questions persist, one thing is certain: Life will never be the same.]]> 3 Brandon Sanderson Varun 4 3.80 2020 The Original
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)]]> 62047992 The moving international sensation about new beginnings, human connection, and the joy of reading.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover's paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.

When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.]]> 150 Satoshi Yagisawa 0063278677 Varun 5 3.66 2010 Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)
author: Satoshi Yagisawa
name: Varun
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)]]> 49021976 The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar's crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin's scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.]]> 1232 Brandon Sanderson 0765326388 Varun 4 4.58 2020 Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/22
date added: 2025/04/23
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder (The Hemlock Saga, #1)]]> 222476100
When a rise in London's supernatural crime puts Fey society at risk of discovery, the Winter Council turns to an unlikely solution: Avery Hemlock, the changeling they sentenced to 500 Years of Nightmares. Inherently lacking social grace and missing approximately two centuries of world knowledge, Avery must find a way to acclimate and solve the case or lose her probationary freedom.

After being left at the altar and dropping out of medical school, Saga Trygg attempts to rekindle her faith in life, humanity, and witchcraft. But when her new neighbor, Avery, accidentally reveals the Fey that have been living among humanity all along, Saga realizes magic is far more than prayers, intention, and candles.

Each faced with navigating an unfamiliar world, the two form an unexpected partnership—but shortly into Avery's investigation, they discover the threat might be closer to Saga than either of them imagined, and Avery will do anything to protect the first friend she's had in more than two hundred years.]]> 448 Kiri Callaghan 1464233438 Varun 0 to-read 4.33 The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder (The Hemlock Saga, #1)
author: Kiri Callaghan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)]]> 54511226
When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akina, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. Knights Radiant who fly too near find their Stormlight suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.

Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 171 Brandon Sanderson 193857026X Varun 4 4.39 2020 Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/10
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 37534833 The #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson at the top of his game.

In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1264 Brandon Sanderson 1250297141 Varun 4 4.63 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)]]> 218515947 The gorgeous collector’s hardcover edition of Blood of Hercules contains full color customized artwork, exclusive bonus content, and gold foil sprayed edges, foil casing, and metallic cover treatment.

I’m just a girl. And it turns out, I’m Hercules.

I’m struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.

My blood test reveals I’m part of the powerful elite. I’m one of them. A Spartan.

Forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, I undergo the most harrowing test of all time to see if I have what it takes to be an immortal. There’s just a few problems. Achilles and Patro are my scary mentors. Kharon, the ferryman of death, and Augustus, the son of war, are my terrifying professors. Also, I’m pretty sure either someone’s stalking me everywhere I go, or my sanity’s slipping––I have a bad feeling both are true.

I’m surrounded by Villains and they’re smothering me with their hate, obsession, and dark possessiveness. Too bad for them, they have no clue just who they’re messing with.

Perfect for readers who love:
� "Who did this to you?"
� Extreme Enemies to Lovers
� Morally Gray Alpha Heros
� Stories where the Villains get the girl
� Greek Myths and War Academies]]> 512 Jasmine Mas 1335474730 Varun 0 to-read 3.96 2024 Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)
author: Jasmine Mas
name: Varun
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Articulated Restraint 43782466 26 Mary Robinette Kowal 1250241308 Varun 4 3.85 2019 Articulated Restraint
author: Mary Robinette Kowal
name: Varun
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Martian Contingency (Lady Astronaut Universe, #4)]]> 211332081
The next step � Mars.

Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat � they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate.

But from the moment she arrives, something is off.

Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt.

What you don’t know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn’t come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth…]]> 384 Mary Robinette Kowal 1250237033 Varun 4 4.15 2025 The Martian Contingency (Lady Astronaut Universe, #4)
author: Mary Robinette Kowal
name: Varun
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 34002132 Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Varun 4 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves:
review:

]]> The Vegetarian 25489025
Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.]]> 188 Han Kang 0553448188 Varun 3 3.62 2007 The Vegetarian
author: Han Kang
name: Varun
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> Gallant 58064046 Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?]]> 338 V.E. Schwab 0062835777 Varun 3 3.70 2022 Gallant
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Varun
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
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]]> <![CDATA[The Ten Thousand Doors of January]]> 43521657 374 Alix E. Harrow 0316421995 Varun 4 3.99 2019 The Ten Thousand Doors of January
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Varun
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut Universe, #3)]]> 52381417 Mary Robinette Kowal continues her award-winning Lady Astronaut series, which began with The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky, with The Relentless Moon.

The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program. The IAC's goal of getting as many people as possible off Earth before it becomes uninhabitable is being threatened.

Elma York is on her way to Mars, but the Moon colony is still being established. Her friend and fellow Lady Astronaut Nicole Wargin is thrilled to be one of those pioneer settlers, using her considerable flight and political skills to keep the program on track. But she is less happy that her husband, the Governor of Kansas, is considering a run for President.]]> 544 Mary Robinette Kowal 1250236967 Varun 5 4.32 2020 The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut Universe, #3)
author: Mary Robinette Kowal
name: Varun
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Shift (Silo, #2) 17306293 579 Hugh Howey Varun 4 4.12 2013 Shift (Silo, #2)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Varun
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All These Worlds (Bobiverse, #3)]]> 35506021
They've created enough colonies so humanity shouldn't go extinct. But political squabbles have a bad habit of dying hard, and the Brazilian probes are still trying to take out the competition. And the Bobs have picked a fight with an older, more powerful species with a large appetite and a short temper.

Still stinging from getting their collective butts kicked in their first encounter with the Others, the Bobs now face the prospect of a decisive final battle to defend Earth and its colonies. But the Bobs are less disciplined than a herd of cats, and some of the younger copies are more concerned with their own local problems than defeating the Others.

Yet salvation may come from an unlikely source. A couple of eighth-generation Bobs have found something out in deep space. All it will take to save the Earth and perhaps all of humanity is for them to get it to Sol - unless the Others arrive first.]]> 336 Dennis E. Taylor Varun 4 4.41 2017 All These Worlds (Bobiverse, #3)
author: Dennis E. Taylor
name: Varun
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)]]> 219449299 A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?]]> 387 Richard Osman 059365322X Varun 4 4.05 2024 We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: Varun
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
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]]> Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Varun 3 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Varun
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Service Model 195790861 To fix the world they first must break it further.

Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into their core programming, they murder their owner. The robot then discovers they can also do something else they never did before: run away. After fleeing the household, they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating, and a robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is finding a new purpose.]]> 376 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1250290287 Varun 3 3.98 2024 Service Model
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Varun
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)]]> 119322
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.]]> 399 Philip Pullman 0679879242 Varun 3 4.02 1995 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)
author: Philip Pullman
name: Varun
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
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]]> <![CDATA[We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)]]> 203956647 A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 059365322X.]]> 400 Richard Osman Varun 4 4.05 2024 We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: Varun
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/12/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)]]> 218515948 Now available for pre-order! This beautiful new paperback edition features full color character art, bonus scene (for the first time in print!), and gold foil cover decoration with embossed lettering.

The overnight viral sensation everyone is talking about, Blood of Hercules, is a sarcastically funny, dark fantasy romance reimagining of Hercules from bestselling author Jasmine Mas.

I’m just a girl. And it turns out, I’m Hercules.

I’m struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.

My blood test reveals I’m part of the powerful elite. I’m one of them. A Spartan.

Forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, I undergo the most harrowing test of all time to see if I have what it takes to be an immortal. There’s just a few problems. Achilles and Patro are my scary mentors. Kharon, the ferryman of death, and Augustus, the son of war, are my terrifying professors. Also, I’m pretty sure either someone’s stalking me everywhere I go, or my sanity’s slipping––I have a bad feeling both are true.

I’m surrounded by Villains and they’re smothering me with their hate, obsession, and dark possessiveness. Too bad for them, they have no clue just who they’re messing with.

Perfect for readers who love:
� "Who did this to you?"
� Extreme Enemies to Lovers
� Morally Gray Alpha Heros
� Stories where the Villains get the girl
� Greek Myths and War Academies]]> 512 Jasmine Mas 1335474722 Varun 0 to-read 4.01 2024 Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #1)
author: Jasmine Mas
name: Varun
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[For We Are Many (Bobiverse, #2)]]> 33395557
Bob and his copies have been spreading out from Earth for 40 years now, looking for habitable planets. But that's the only part of the plan that's still in one piece. A system-wide war has killed off 99.9 percent of the human race; nuclear winter is slowly making the Earth uninhabitable; a radical group wants to finish the job on the remnants of humanity; the Brazilian space probes are still out there, still trying to blow up the competition; and the Bobs have discovered a spacefaring species that sees all other life as food.

Bob left Earth anticipating a life of exploration and blissful solitude. Instead he's become a sky god to a primitive native species, the only hope for getting humanity to a new home, and possibly the only thing that can prevent every living thing in the local sphere from ending up as dinner.]]> 311 Dennis E. Taylor Varun 4 4.37 2017 For We Are Many (Bobiverse, #2)
author: Dennis E. Taylor
name: Varun
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/12/10
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)]]> 8130423 In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.]]> 361 Rick Riordan Varun 3 4.44 2008 The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2008
rating: 3
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date added: 2024/12/10
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]]> <![CDATA[The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)]]> 4556058
While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy's sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.]]> 381 Rick Riordan 1423101472 Varun 3 4.59 2009 The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/10
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Forward the Foundation (Foundation, #7)]]> 76679 Librarian's Note: Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Here, from a grand master of science fiction, is the long awaited final novel of the greatest series ever told. Completed just before his death, Forward The Foundation is the crowning achievement of a great writer's life, a stirring testament to the creative genius of Isaac Asimov.

As Hari Seldon struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory and ensure a place for humanity among the stars, the great Galactic Empire totters on the brink of apocalyptic collapse. Caught in the maelstrom are Seldon and all he holds dear, pawns in the struggle for dominance. Whoever can control Seldon will control psychohistory—and with it the future of the Galaxy.

Among those seeking to turn psychohistory into the greatest weapon known to man are a populist political demagogue, the weak-willed Emperor Cleon I, and a ruthless militaristic general. In his last act of service to humankind, Hari Seldon must somehow save his life's work from their grasp as he searches for his true heirs—a search the begins with his own granddaughter and the dream of a new Foundation.]]> 464 Isaac Asimov 0553565079 Varun 4 4.15 1993 Forward the Foundation (Foundation, #7)
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Varun
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1993
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/12/10
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]]> The Mountain in the Sea 59808603 Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future.

Rumors begin to spread of a species of hyperintelligent, dangerous octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, off from the world. Dr. Nguyen joins DIANIMA’s team on the islands: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.

The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. The stakes are high: there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of the octopuses� advancements, and as Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves.

But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.

A near-future thriller about the nature of consciousness, Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea is a dazzling literary debut and a mind-blowing dive into the treasure and wreckage of humankind’s legacy.]]> 456 Ray Nayler 0374605955 Varun 4 3.87 2022 The Mountain in the Sea
author: Ray Nayler
name: Varun
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2022
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/11/26
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]]> <![CDATA[We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse, #1)]]> 32109569 Alternate Cover Edition can be found here.

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.

Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.

The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.]]> 383 Dennis E. Taylor Varun 4 4.29 2016 We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse, #1)
author: Dennis E. Taylor
name: Varun
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3)]]> 561456
But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster.

Oh, and guess what? The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive...]]> 352 Rick Riordan Varun 3 4.37 2007 The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/10/11
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]]> The Centre 68005500 A darkly comic, boundary-pushing debut following an adrift Pakistani translator in London who attends a mysterious language school which boasts complete fluency in just ten days, but at a secret, sinister cost.

Anisa Ellahi dreams of being a translator of â€great works of literatureâ€�, but instead mostly spends her days subtitling Bollywood films in her flat in London while living off her parentsâ€� generous allowance and discussing the â€underside of lifeâ€� with her best friend, Naima. Then she meets Adam, who has successfully leveraged his savant-level aptitude for languages into an enviable career. At first, this only adds to her sense of inadequacy, but when Adam learns to speak Urdu with native fluency practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret.

Adam tells Anisa about the Centre, an elite, invite-only program that guarantees absolute fluency in any language in just ten days. Sceptical but intrigued, Anisa enrols. Stripped of her belongings and all contact with the outside world, she undergoes the Centre's strange and rigorous processes. But as she enmeshes herself further within the organisation, seduced by all that it’s made possible, she soon realizes the disturbing, hidden cost of its services.

By turns dark, funny, and surreal, and with twists page-turning and shocking, The Centre takes the reader on a journey through Karachi, London, and New Delhi, interrogating the sticky politics of language, translation, and appropriation with biting specificity, and ultimately asking: what price would you be willing to pay for success?]]> 288 Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi Varun 3 3.37 2023 The Centre
author: Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
name: Varun
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/07
date added: 2024/10/07
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]]> <![CDATA[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)]]> 8695 alternate edition for ISBN 0345418921/9780345418920

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and contributor to the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMilan, a fellow Earth refuge who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, who suffers nothing and no one gladly.

Source: douglasadams.com]]> 250 Douglas Adams Varun 4 4.22 1980 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Varun
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1980
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)]]> 58416952 At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in this new fantasy series by internationally bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

AUDI. VIDE. TACE.

The Catenan Republic � the Hierarchy � may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.

I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus � what they call Will � to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.

But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.

And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.

To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.

And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.]]> 639 James Islington 1982141190 Varun 4 4.60 2023 The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)
author: James Islington
name: Varun
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2023
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't]]> 42041926 The Scout Mindset, Galef shows that what makes scouts better at getting things right isn't that they're smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else. It's a handful of emotional skills, habits, and ways of looking at the world--which anyone can learn. With fascinating examples ranging from how to survive being stranded in the middle of the ocean, to how Jeff Bezos avoids overconfidence, to how superforecasters outperform CIA operatives, to Reddit threads and modern partisan politics, Galef explores why our brains deceive us and what we can do to change the way we think.]]> 288 Julia Galef 0735217556 Varun 4 4.09 2021 The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
author: Julia Galef
name: Varun
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/10/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)]]> 40727118
But things don't stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: The magical borders which protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner by the Cyclops Polyphemus on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters--the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millenia--only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name...the Bermuda Triangle.

Now Percy and his friends--Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson--must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes by the end of the summer or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family--one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.]]> 279 Rick Riordan 0120000318 Varun 2 4.24 2006 The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2006
rating: 2
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date added: 2024/10/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)]]> 28187 Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.]]> 377 Rick Riordan 0786838655 Varun 2 4.31 2005 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2005
rating: 2
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date added: 2024/10/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires, #2)]]> 26860699
For centuries the Cinder Spires have safeguarded humanity, rising far above the deadly surface world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses rule, developing scientific marvels and building fleets of airships for defence and trade.
Now, the Spires hover on the brink of open war.

Everyone knows it's coming. The guns of the great airship fleets that control the skies between the last bastions of humanity will soon speak in anger, and Spire Albion stands alone against the overwhelming might of Spire Aurora's Armada and its new secret weapon--one capable of destroying the populations of entire Spires.

A trading summit at Spire Olympia provides an opportunity for the Spirearch, Lord Albion, to secure alliances that will shape the outcomes of the war, and to that end he dispatches privateer Captain Francis Madison Grimm and the crew of the AMS Predator to bolster the Spirearch's diplomatic agents.

It will take daring, skill, and no small amount of showmanship to convince the world to stand with Spire Albion--assuming that it is not already too late.]]> 610 Jim Butcher 0451466829 Varun 3 4.24 2023 The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires, #2)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Varun
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 3
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date added: 2024/10/06
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]]> Blindsight (Firefall, #1) 48484 Two months since the stars fell...

Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous fist, screaming to the heavens as the atmosphere burned them to ash. Two months since that moment of brief, bright surveillance by agents unknown.

Two months of silence while a world holds its breath.

Now some half-derelict space probe, sparking fitfully past Neptune’s orbit, hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever’s out there isn’t talking to us. It’s talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer, something en route.

So who do you send to force introductions on an intelligence with motives unknown, maybe unknowable? Who do you send to meet the alien when the alien doesn’t want to meet?

You send a linguist with multiple personalities, her brain surgically partitioned into separate, sentient processing cores. You send a biologist so radically interfaced with machinery that he sees X-rays and tastes ultrasound, so compromised by grafts and splices he no longer feels his own flesh. You send a pacifist warrior in the faint hope she won’t be needed, and a fainter hope she’ll do any good if she is needed. You send a monster to command them all, an extinct hominid predator once called “vampire,� recalled from the grave with the voodoo of recombinant genetics and the blood of sociopaths. And you send a synthesist � an informational topologist with half his mind gone � as an interface between here and there, a conduit through which the Dead Center might hope to understand the Bleeding Edge.

You send them all to the edge of interstellar space, praying you can trust such freaks and retrofits with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they’ve been sent to find.

But you’d give anything for that to be true, if you only knew what was waiting for them…]]> 384 Peter Watts 0765312182 Varun 5 4.01 2006 Blindsight (Firefall, #1)
author: Peter Watts
name: Varun
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/08/07
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]]> The Life Impossible 198281740
“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…�

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.]]> 324 Matt Haig 0593489276 Varun 0 to-read 3.45 2024 The Life Impossible
author: Matt Haig
name: Varun
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/08/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Out of the Shadow of a Giant: Hooke, Halley, and the Birth of Science]]> 34746469
Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, whose place in history has been overshadowed by the giant figure of Newton, were pioneering scientists within their own right, and instrumental in establishing the Royal Society.
Ěý
Although Newton is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and the father of the English scientific revolution, John and Mary Gribbin uncover the fascinating story of Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, whose scientific achievements neatly embrace the hundred years or so during which science as we know it became established. They argue persuasively that, even without Newton, science would have made a great leap forward in the second half of the seventeenth century, headed by two extraordinary figures, Hooke and Halley.]]> 328 John Gribbin 0300226756 Varun 5 3.91 Out of the Shadow of a Giant: Hooke, Halley, and the Birth of Science
author: John Gribbin
name: Varun
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 5
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date added: 2024/07/15
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]]> <![CDATA[Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change]]> 174156281
In 2010, the day after her fiftieth birthday—and despite having faced feedback for years that she was not astronaut material—Cady Coleman boarded a rocket and blasted off into space for her third NASA mission, the only woman on her six-person crew. She may have been an “unexpected� astronaut, but her determination and her experiences give her a unique perspective on life here on Earth.

In Sharing Space , Cady shares counterintuitive insights integral to her success, such as how to leverage insecurities to beat expectations, how to know when to adapt and when to press for change, and how to be the glue that holds a disparate team together. Illustrated with stories from her life and training, from meteorite hunting in Antarctica to the two weeks she spent living in an underwater habitat to the magic of spending six months living and working in zero gravity, this book will inspire anyone eager to escape a box in which they have been (unfairly) placed or develop the confidence to succeed, even when they’re not an obvious “fit.”]]> 272 Cady Coleman 0593494016 Varun 0 to-read 4.37 Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change
author: Cady Coleman
name: Varun
average rating: 4.37
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16)]]> 22249640 Dresden Files series. When the Supernatural nations of the world meet up to negotiate an end to ongoing hostilities, Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, joins the White Council's security team to make sure the talks stay civil. But can he succeed, when dark political manipulations threaten the very existence of Chicago--and all he holds dear?

Peace Talks is the sixteenth novel in the Dresden Files series and follows Harry’s adventures after the events of Skin Game.]]> 352 Jim Butcher 035651529X Varun 4 4.15 2020 Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, #16)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Varun
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/05/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Working for Bigfoot (The Dresden Files #11.4)]]> 25807691
In the three novellas that make upĚýWorking For Bigfoot, collected together for the first time here, readers encounter Dresden at different points in his storied career, and in Irwin’s life. As a middle-schooler, in “BĚýIs for Bigfoot,â€� Irwin attracts the unwelcome attention of a pair of bullying brothers who are more than they seem, and when Harry steps in, it turns out they have a mystical guardian of their own. At a fancy private high school in “I Was a Teenage Bigfoot,â€� Harry is called in when Irwin grows ill for the first time, and it’s not just a case of mono. Finally, Irwin is all grown up and has a grown-up’s typical problems as a freshman in college in “Bigfoot on Campus,â€� or would have if typical included vampires.

New York TimesĚýbestseller Jim Butcher explores the responsibilities of fatherhood and the difficulties of growing up with the elements Dresden Files fans crave—detection, adventure, humor, and magic.]]> 136 Jim Butcher 1596067314 Varun 4 4.29 2014 Working for Bigfoot (The Dresden Files #11.4)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Varun
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/05/17
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]]> <![CDATA[The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)]]> 62226126
An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.

With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?]]> 421 Richard Osman 0241512441 Varun 4 4.44 2023 The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)
author: Richard Osman
name: Varun
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2023
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/05/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Murtagh (The Inheritance Cycle, #5)]]> 123206298 Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider—and fan favorite—Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.

In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.]]> 688 Christopher Paolini 1774882965 Varun 3 4.09 2023 Murtagh (The Inheritance Cycle, #5)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Varun
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/06
date added: 2024/05/09
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]]> Snow Crash 40651883 Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous� you'll recognize it immediately.]]> 559 Neal Stephenson Varun 4 4.02 1992 Snow Crash
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)]]> 76706470 576 Sarah J. Maas Varun 2 4.44 2014 Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Varun
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2)]]> 55457493
Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn't that be a bonus?

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?]]> 422 Richard Osman Varun 4 4.36 2021 The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2)
author: Richard Osman
name: Varun
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1)]]> 46000520
But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

Alternate cover edition can be found here .]]> 382 Richard Osman Varun 4 3.86 2020 The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: Varun
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/30
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review:

]]> The Sunlit Man 60531420
Running. Putting distance between himself and the relentless Night Brigade has been Nomad’s strategy for years. Staying one or two steps ahead of his pursuers by skipping through the Cosmere from one world to the next.

But now, his powers too depleted to escape, Nomad finds himself trapped on Canticle, a planet that will kill anyone who doesn’t keep moving. Fleeing the fires of a sunrise that melts the very stones, he is instantly caught up in the struggle between a heartless tyrant and the brave rebels who defy him.

Failure means a quick death, incinerated by the sun� or a lifetime as a mindless slave. Tormented by the consequences of his past, Nomad must fight not only for his survival―but also for his very soul.

Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!

Performed by Nick J. Russo, Torian Brackett, Wyn Delano, Taylor Coan, Elena Anderson, Stephanie NĂ©meth-Parker, Daniel Llaca, David Cui Cui, Yasmin Tuazon, Nanette Savard, Alexander Amado, Natalie Van Sistine, Chris Davenport, Christopher Walker, Shanta Parasuraman, Scott McCormick, Gabriel Michael, Eva Wilhelm, Colleen Delany, Kenneth Charles, Laura C. Harris, Bradley Foster Smith, Crystal Lee, and Richard Rohan.]]> 447 Brandon Sanderson 1938570391 Varun 4 4.28 2023 The Sunlit Man
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/20
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Yumi and the Nightmare Painter]]> 60531416 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings us a gripping story set in the Cosmere universe told by Hoid, where two people from incredibly different worlds must compromise and work together to save their worlds from ruin.

Yumi comes from a land of gardens, meditation, and spirits, while Painter lives in a world of darkness, technology, and nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined in strange ways, can they put aside their differences and work together to uncover the mysteries of their situation and save each other’s communities from certain disaster?]]> 480 Brandon Sanderson 1938570375 Varun 4 4.45 2023 Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/07
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Cyclist's Guide to Crime & Croissants]]> 197522434 A Cyclist's Guide Mystery

Vicariously tour the sundrenched Mediterranean Coast in this perfectly escapist new cozy mystery series starring American expat-turned-bike tour company owner in Southern France.

Perfect for fans of Donna Leon’s The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries, M.L. Longworth’s Provençal Mystery series, and armchair travel!

Nine months ago, Sadie Greene shocked friends and family by ditching her sensible office job in the Chicago suburbs and buying a sight-unseen French bicycling tour company, Oui Cycle. Now she’s living the unconventional life of her dreams in the gorgeous village of Sans-Souci-sur-Mer. Sans souci means carefree, but Sadie feels enough pressure to burst a tire when hometown friends arrive for a tour, including her former boss, Dom Appleton. Sadie is determined to show them the wonders of France and cycling—and to prove she made the right move.

She hopes her meticulously planned nine-day itinerary will win them over, with its stunning seascapes, delicious wine tastings, hilltop villages, and, of course, frequent stops for croissants. When Dom drags his heels on fun, Sadie vows he’ll enjoy if it kills her. That is, until Dom ends up dead. The tragedy was no accident. Someone went out of their way to bring a permanent end to Dom’s vacation.

As more crimes—and murder—roll in, suspicions hover over Oui Cycle. To save her dream business, help her friends, and bring justice, Sadie launches her own investigation. However, mysteries mount with every turn. On an uphill battle for clues, can Sadie come to terms with her painful past while spinning closer to the truth—or will a twisted killer put the brakes on her for good?]]> 346 Ann Claire 149674568X Varun 0 to-read 3.50 2024 A Cyclist's Guide to Crime & Croissants
author: Ann Claire
name: Varun
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/19
shelves: to-read
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]]> Call Forth a Fox 194025272
One winter night, on her way home from foraging, Ro encounters a fox being attacked by a bear. She fights the bear to save the fox’s life, only to see the bear turn into a boy after her sister shoots him with an arrow. When the boy wakes, he has no memory of who he is—all he knows is Ro’s name and that he has to kill the fox.

Ro never believed in the faeries from her father’s stories, but she can’t deny the magic surrounding her and that both the boy and the fox are victims of a faerie curse. She’ll have to remember everything her father taught her in order to extract herself from this deadly game and keep her precious fox out of harm’s way.]]> 384 Markelle Grabo Varun 0 to-read 3.71 2024 Call Forth a Fox
author: Markelle Grabo
name: Varun
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]> 393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Varun 4 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: Varun
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/03/17
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2)]]> 60531410 399 Brandon Sanderson 1938570332 Varun 3 3.74 2023 The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/03/02
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review:

]]> Tress of the Emerald Sea 60531406 #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?]]> 443 Brandon Sanderson Varun 4 4.34 2023 Tress of the Emerald Sea
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time, #10)]]> 113435 The Wheel of Time from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Robert Jordan, the world and the characters stand at a crossroads, and the world approaches twilight, when the power of the Shadow grows stronger.

Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.

Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.

At Tar Valon, Egwene al'Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha'man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha'man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.

In Andor, Elayne Trakland fights for the Lion Throne that is hers by right, but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.

Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One's taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared-even one prophesied to save the world. Now, Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.
]]> 704 Robert Jordan 0312864590 Varun 4 3.77 2003 Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time, #10)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, #14)]]> 7743175
When Robert Jordan died in 2007, all feared that these concluding scenes would never be written. But working from notes and partials left by Jordan, established fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson stepped in to complete the masterwork. With The Gathering Storm (Book 12) and Towers of Midnight (Book 13) behind him, Sanderson now re-creates the vision that Robert Jordan left behind.

Edited by Jordan's widow, who edited all of Jordan's books, A Memory of Light will delight, enthrall, and deeply satisfy all of Jordan's legions of readers.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.
What was, what will be, and what is,
may yet fall under the Shadow.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.]]> 912 Robert Jordan 0765325950 Varun 4 4.56 2013 A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, #14)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/06
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Towers of Midnight (The Wheel of Time, #13)]]> 8253920 The end draws near....

The Last Battle has started. The seals on the Dark One’s prison are crumbling. The Pattern itself is unraveling, and the armies of the Shadow have begun to boil out of the Blight.

The sun has begun to set upon the Third Age.

Perrin Aybara is now hunted by specters from his past: Whitecloaks, a slayer of wolves, and the responsibilities of leadership. All the while, an unseen foe is slowly pulling a noose tight around his neck. To prevail, he must seek answers in °Ő±đ±ô’a°ů˛ą˛Ô’rłóľ±´Ç»ĺ and find a way--at long last--to master the wolf within him or lose himself to it forever

Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon prepares for the most difficult challenge of his life. The creatures beyond the stone gateways--the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn--have confused him, taunted him, and left him hanged, his memory stuffed with bits and pieces of other men’s lives. He had hoped that his last confrontation with them would be the end of it, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. The time is coming when he will again have to dance with the Snakes and the Foxes, playing a game that cannot be won. The Tower of Ghenjei awaits, and its secrets will reveal the fate of a friend long lost.

This penultimate novel of Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling series--the second of three based on materials he left behind when he died in 2007--brings dramatic and compelling developments to many threads in the Pattern. The end draws near.

Dovie’andi se tovya sagain. It’s time to toss the dice.]]> 863 Robert Jordan 0765325942 Varun 4 4.46 2010 Towers of Midnight (The Wheel of Time, #13)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/01/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane, #1)]]> 36679274
Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces.

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?]]> 624 Cassandra Clare 0525619992 Varun 0 to-read 3.80 2023 Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Varun
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/12/19
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time, #12)]]> 1166599
Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.

The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, and now Stormlight Archive, among others, was chosen by Jordan's editor--his wife, Harriet McDougal--to complete the final volume, later expanded to three books.

In this epic novel, Robert Jordan's international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward--wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders--his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.

Egwene al'Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower--and possibly the world itself.]]> 824 Robert Jordan 0765302306 Varun 5 4.41 2009 The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time, #12)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/12/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)]]> 13888
The winds of time have become a storm, and things that everyone believes are fixed in place forever are changing before their eyes. Even the White Tower itself is no longer a place of safety. Now Rand, Perrin and Mat, Egwene and Elayne, Nynaeve and Lan, and even Loial, must ride those storm winds, or the Dark One will triumph.]]> 860 Robert Jordan 0812577566 Varun 5 4.18 2005 Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/22
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)]]> 39325105 Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor's haunted space station.

She answered the Emperor's call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.

In victory, her world has turned to ash.

After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath � but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.

Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?]]> 512 Tamsyn Muir 1250313228 Varun 5 4.30 2020 Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Varun
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/04
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]]> The Midnight Library 52578297
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?]]> 288 Matt Haig 0525559477 Varun 5 3.96 2020 The Midnight Library
author: Matt Haig
name: Varun
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/10/04
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, #1)]]> 111673828 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and set in the world of A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E. Schwab opens a new door into perilous adventure and tangled schemes with The Fragile Threads of Power.

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power, and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast, and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory―Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.

But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years―and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland's absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own―but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown them instead.

And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.

Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

Her name is Tes, and she's the only one who can bring them together―or unravel it all.]]> 648 V.E. Schwab 0765387492 Varun 0 currently-reading 4.25 2023 The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, #1)
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Varun
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1)]]> 43895550 An all-new Dresden Files story headlines this urban fantasy short story collection starring the Windy City's favorite wizard.

The world of Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is rife with intrigue--and creatures of all supernatural stripes. And you'll make their intimate acquaintance as Harry delves into the dark side of truth, justice, and the American way in this must-have short story collection.

From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published "Zoo Day," Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales.

With twelve stories in all, Brief Cases offers both longtime fans and first-time readers tantalizing glimpses into Harry's funny, gritty, and unforgettable realm, whetting their appetites for more to come from the wizard with a heart of gold.

The collection includes:

- "Curses," from Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow
- "AAAA Wizardry," from the Dresden Files RPG
- "Even Hand," from Dark and Stormy Knights, edited by P. N. Elrod
- "B is for Bigfoot," from Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.
- "I was a Teenage Bigfoot," from Blood Lite III: Aftertaste, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.
- "Bigfoot on Campus," from Hex Appeal, edited by P. N. Elrod. Republished in Working for Bigfoot.
- "Bombshells," from Dangerous Women, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
- "Jury Duty," from Unbound, edited by Shawn Speakman
- "Cold Case," from Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes
- "Day One," from Unfettered II, edited by Shawn Speakman
- "A Fistful of Warlocks," from Straight Outta Tombstone, edited by David Boop
- "Zoo Day," a brand-new novella, original to this collection]]> 448 Jim Butcher 0451492110 Varun 5 4.41 2018 Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Varun
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/19
date added: 2023/09/19
shelves:
review:

]]> The Song of Achilles 13623848 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062060624.

Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.]]> 408 Madeline Miller Varun 0 to-read 4.29 2011 The Song of Achilles
author: Madeline Miller
name: Varun
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)]]> 43587154 JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu.

The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities.

The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion--but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection.

When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself.]]> 540 Fonda Lee 0316440884 Varun 0 to-read 4.06 2017 Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)
author: Fonda Lee
name: Varun
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.5)]]> 12183815 A new collection of previously published Dresden Files stories, including an ORIGINAL Dresden Files novella from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Return to Chicago with a brand-new Dresden Files novella, plus other reader favorites featuring Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and his friends, as they solve supernatural mysteries, protect the helpless, and fight evil:

* "Curses," from THE NAKED CITY, edited by Ellen Datlow
* "AAAA Wizardry," from the Dresden Files RPG
* "Even Hand," from DARK AND STORMY KNIGHTS, edited by P. N. Elrod
* "B is for Bigfoot," from UNDER MY HAT: TALES FROM THE CAULDRON, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Republished in WORKING FOR BIGFOOT
* "I was a Teenage Bigfoot," from BLOOD LITE 3: AFTERTASTE, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Republished in WORKING FOR BIGFOOT.
* "Bigfoot on Campus," from HEX APPEAL, edited by P. N. Elrod. Republished in WORKING FOR BIGFOOT.
* "Bombshells," from DANGEROUS WOMEN, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
* "Jury Duty," from UNBOUND, edited by Shawn Speakman
* "Cold Case," from SHADOWED SOULS, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes
* "Day One," from UNFETTERED II, edited by Shawn Speakman
* "A Fistful of Warlocks," from STRAIGHT OUTTA TOMBSTONE, edited by David Boop
* "Zoo Day" - brand-new novella, original to this collection]]> 516 Jim Butcher 0451492129 Varun 5 4.34 2018 Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.5)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Varun
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/09/16
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga, #6)]]> 29227774 Darrow returns as Pierce Brown’s New York Times bestselling Red Rising series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Age.

�The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.”—Virginia au Augustus

The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.

But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.

The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.]]> 682 Pierce Brown 1473646804 Varun 5 4.74 2023 Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga, #6)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Varun
average rating: 4.74
book published: 2023
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/09/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)]]> 42036538
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.]]> 448 Tamsyn Muir 1250313198 Varun 3 4.19 2019 Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Varun
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/08/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup]]> 37976541 The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers.

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.

For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, FDA officials, and her own employees. When Carreyrou, working at The Wall Street Journal, got a tip from a former Theranos employee and started asking questions, both Carreyrou and the Journal were threatened with lawsuits. Undaunted, the newspaper ran the first of dozens of Theranos articles in late 2015. By early 2017, the company's value was zero and Holmes faced potential legal action from the government and her investors.

Here is the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley.]]> 339 John Carreyrou Varun 5 4.38 2018 Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
author: John Carreyrou
name: Varun
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/08/06
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]]> <![CDATA[A Place So Foreign and Eight More]]> 29593 1 Craphound
2 A place so foreign
3 All day sucker
4 To market, to market
5 Return to Pleasure Island
6 Shadow of the mothaship
7 Home again, home again
8 The super man and the bugout
9 Ownz0red]]> 243 Cory Doctorow 1568582862 Varun 4 3.73 2000 A Place So Foreign and Eight More
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Varun
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/24
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Winter's Heart (The Wheel of Time, #9)]]> 13891
Mazrim Taim, leader of the Black Tower, is revealed to be a liar. But what is he up to?

Faile, with the Aiel Maidens, Bain and Chiad, and her companions, Queen Alliandre and Morgase, is prisoner of Savanna's sept.

Perrin is desperately searching for Faile. With Elyas Machera, Berelain, the Prophet and a very mixed "army" of disparate forces, he is moving through country rife with bandits and roving Seanchan. The Forsaken are ever more present, and united, and the man called Slayer stalks Tel'aran'rhiod and the wolfdream.

In Ebou Dar, the Seanchan princess known as Daughter of the Nine Moons arrives--and Mat, who had been recuperating in the Tarasin Palace, is introduced to her. Will the marriage that has been foretold come about?

There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it is a beginning....]]> 780 Robert Jordan 081257558X Varun 5 3.94 2000 Winter's Heart (The Wheel of Time, #9)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/06/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)]]> 76703559 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.]]> 406 Sarah J. Maas 163973094X Varun 2 4.18 2012 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Varun
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 2
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date added: 2023/06/07
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]]> <![CDATA[A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)]]> 22055262
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]> 400 V.E. Schwab 0765376458 Varun 3 4.04 2015 A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Varun
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/05/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Stories of Your Life and Others]]> 223380 ]]> 281 Ted Chiang 0330426648 Varun 4 4.28 2002 Stories of Your Life and Others
author: Ted Chiang
name: Varun
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/05/18
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]]> <![CDATA[The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time, #8)]]> 140974
In Illian, Rand vows to throw the Seanchan back as he did once before. But signs of madness are appearing among the Asha'man.

In Ghealdan, Perrin faces the intrigues of Whitecloaks, Seanchan invaders, the scattered Shaido Aiel, and the Prophet himself. Perrin's beloved wife, Faile, may pay with her life, and Perrin himself may have to destroy his soul to save her.

Meanwhile the rebel Aes Sedai under their young Amyrlin, Egwene al'Vere, face an army that intends to keep them away from the White Tower. But Egwene is determined to unseat the usurper Elaida and reunite the Aes Sedai. She does not yet understand the price that others—and she herself—will pay.]]> 685 Robert Jordan 0812550293 Varun 4 3.91 1998 The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time, #8)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1998
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/05/09
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]]> <![CDATA[The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue]]> 50623864
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.]]> 448 V.E. Schwab 0765387565 Varun 5 4.16 2020 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
author: V.E. Schwab
name: Varun
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2020
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/04/02
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]]> <![CDATA[A Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time, #7)]]> 13890
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.]]> 880 Robert Jordan 0812550285 Varun 5 4.05 1996 A Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time, #7)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1996
rating: 5
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date added: 2023/03/26
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]]> <![CDATA[The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks]]> 6493208
Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored� ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia � a land of wooden quarters for enslaved people, faith healings, and voodoo � to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality� until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family � past and present � is inextricably connected to the history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.]]> 370 Rebecca Skloot 1400052173 Varun 4 4.12 2010 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
author: Rebecca Skloot
name: Varun
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/02/21
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]]> Exhalation 41160292
In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom," the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.]]> 368 Ted Chiang Varun 4 4.27 2019 Exhalation
author: Ted Chiang
name: Varun
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/02/13
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]]> <![CDATA[Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, #6)]]> 35231
On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world ...

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne -- and where an unexpected visitor may change the world ...

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march ...

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally ...

And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway ...]]> 1011 Robert Jordan 0812513754 Varun 5 4.17 1994 Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, #6)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/02/08
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]]> Machinehood 54304067 A science fiction thriller about artificial intelligence, sentience, and labor rights in a near future dominated by the gig economy.

Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-special forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It’s 2095 and people don’t usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive, but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process.

All that changes when Welga’s client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week.

Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight.

Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood and what do they really want?

A thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?]]> 404 S.B. Divya 1982148063 Varun 3 3.57 2021 Machinehood
author: S.B. Divya
name: Varun
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/02/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)]]> 34703445 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, a special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive.

Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older--a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can't help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

]]> 272 Brandon Sanderson 1250166543 Varun 4 4.14 2016 Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/02/04
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]]> The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) 23947089 Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with The Alloy of Law, comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in The Lost Metal.

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set—with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders—since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner, Wayne, find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between the capital, Elendel, and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate—whose corruption Wax and his wife, Steris, have sought to expose—and Bilming is even more entangled.

After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial's god, Harmony, reveals that Bilming has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn't the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere—Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial . . . at any cost.

Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.]]> 507 Brandon Sanderson 0765391198 Varun 3 4.46 2022 The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/02/04
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]]> Much Obliged, Jeeves 16394
Jeeves, who has saved Bertie Wooster so often in the past, may finally prove to be the unwitting cause of this young master's undoing in Jeeves and the Tie that Binds. The Junior Ganymede, a club for butlers in London's fashionable West End, requires every member to provide details about the fellow he is working for. When information is inadvertently revealed to a dangerous source, it falls to Jeeves to undo the damage.]]> 208 P.G. Wodehouse 1585675261 Varun 0 4.17 1971 Much Obliged, Jeeves
author: P.G. Wodehouse
name: Varun
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1971
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Jeeves in the Offing (Jeeves, #12)]]> 16404
Blandings Castle is a collection of tales concerning Lord Emsworth and the Threepwood clan, while Jeeves in the Offing finds Bertie Wooster in yet another scrape-with the peerless Jeeves out of sight, on vacation! Poor Bertie nearly becomes unstuck! Young Men in Spats is Wodehouse at his most sparkling: stories concerning members of the inimitable Drones Club-they may be small of brain and short on cash but they are always good for ingenious adventures. And in The Luck of the Bodkins, the action spans London, New York, Hollywood, and several transatlantic liners, as three dapper young men find themselves in various Wodehousian predicaments concerning their love lives and finances.]]> 200 P.G. Wodehouse 1585673250 Varun 0 4.04 1960 Jeeves in the Offing (Jeeves, #12)
author: P.G. Wodehouse
name: Varun
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1960
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 17332218 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.]]> 1088 Brandon Sanderson 0765326361 Varun 3 4.76 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Varun
average rating: 4.76
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/15
date added: 2022/12/15
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]]> <![CDATA[The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5)]]> 13895
In The Fires of Heaven, the fifth novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, four of the most powerful Forsaken band together against the Champion of Light, Rand al’Thor.

Prophesized to defeat the Dark One, Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, has upset the balance of power across the land. Shaido Aiel are on the march, ravaging everything in their path. The White Tower's Amyrlin has been deposed, turning the Aes Sedai against one another. The forbidden city of Rhuidean is overrun by Shadowspawn.

Despite the chaos swirling around him, Rand continues to learn how to harness his abilities, determined to wield the One Power--and ignoring the counsel of Moiraine Damodred at great cost.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® by Robert Jordan has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read.

The Wheel of Time®
New Spring: The Novel
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter's Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams

By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light]]> 912 Robert Jordan 1857232097 Varun 5 4.19 1993 The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Varun
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1993
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/11/25
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]]> Risen (Alex Verus, #12) 56358066
Alex's girlfriend, the life mage Anne, has fallen fully under the control of the deadly djinn she made a bargain with, and it is preparing to create an army of mages subject to its every whim. Alex, the Council, and the Dark mage Richard Drakh agree to call a truce in their war, and plans are made for a joint attack. Alex knows that it's only a matter of time before Drakh and the Council turn on each other . . . and neither cares about keeping Anne alive. Can Alex figure out a way to stop Anne and to free her from possession before time runs out for the people he loves?]]> 334 Benedict Jacka Varun 4 4.44 2021 Risen (Alex Verus, #12)
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Varun
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/11/25
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]]> Echopraxia (Firefall, #2) 18490708
It's the eve of the twenty-second century: a world where the dearly departed send postcards back from Heaven and evangelicals make scientific breakthroughs by speaking in tongues; where genetically engineered vampires solve problems intractable to baseline humans and soldiers come with zombie switches that shut off self-awareness during combat. And it’s all under surveillance by an alien presence that refuses to show itself.

Daniel Bruks is a living fossil: a field biologist in a world where biology has turned computational, a cat's-paw used by terrorists to kill thousands. Taking refuge in the Oregon desert, he’s turned his back on a humanity that shatters into strange new subspecies with every heartbeat. But he awakens one night to find himself at the center of a storm that will turn all of history inside-out.

Now he’s trapped on a ship bound for the center of the solar system. To his left is a grief-stricken soldier, obsessed by whispered messages from a dead son. To his right is a pilot who hasn’t yet found the man she's sworn to kill on sight. A vampire and its entourage of zombie bodyguards lurk in the shadows behind. And dead ahead, a handful of rapture-stricken monks takes them all to a meeting with something they will only call “The Angels of the Asteroids.�

Their pilgrimage brings Dan Bruks, the fossil man, face-to-face with the biggest evolutionary breakpoint since the origin of thought itself.]]> 384 Peter Watts 076532802X Varun 3 3.80 2014 Echopraxia (Firefall, #2)
author: Peter Watts
name: Varun
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2014
rating: 3
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date added: 2022/10/12
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]]>