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Mara’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Mara’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Mara Tran’s Followers (111)
1,096 books
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159 friends
1,848 books
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3,451 friends
1,417 books
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43 friends
1,826 books
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58 friends
662 books
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4,869 friends
1,049 books
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12 friends
1,495 books
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6,307 friends
9,508 books
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311 friends
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Mara Tran
Goodreads Author
Born
in The United States
Website
Genre
Member Since
November 2011
URL
https://www.goodreads.com/maraanne
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Mara Tran
My own, and I would buy all the dresses from Monsieur Dubois’s dress shop, then tour Venisia.
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The Ward (The Birthright Chronicles #1)
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.
THE WARD Read-Along in January
Hello and happy (almost) New Year!
We’re kicking 2024 off with a 4-week long read-along of my book THE WARD! Join the discussion group right here on Goodreads, and for extra fun tune into my IG for a live stream discussion of the creative process and other fun topics - posted every Sunday during the read-along! The read-along begins January 7th and ends February 3rd.
Below is the read-along schedule Read more of this blog post »
We’re kicking 2024 off with a 4-week long read-along of my book THE WARD! Join the discussion group right here on Goodreads, and for extra fun tune into my IG for a live stream discussion of the creative process and other fun topics - posted every Sunday during the read-along! The read-along begins January 7th and ends February 3rd.
Below is the read-along schedule Read more of this blog post »
Mara’s Recent Updates
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Mara
entered a giveaway
This Is Where It Ends (Anniversary Edition)
by Marieke Nijkamp (Goodreads Author)
5 copies
available, ends on
November 03, 2025
Enter to win »
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“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”
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“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
― The Importance of Being Earnest
― The Importance of Being Earnest
“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
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“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.”
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“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”
― Pride and Prejudice
― Pride and Prejudice
History Buffs United
— 512 members
— last activity Sep 18, 2025 10:12AM
This group is for anyone who loves to read or write historical fiction. Our purpose is to recommend great reads, share our own writing, and help fello ...more
Classics for Classic Ladies
— 7 members
— last activity Sep 09, 2015 11:43AM
A private bookclub for select members to join in with some friends and read a classic a month!
Millennial Reads
— 4 members
— last activity Jan 03, 2025 05:59AM
A laidback reading group for older, backlogged YA books - and a few new(ish) ones!
Rosemary Sutcliff Book Group
— 28 members
— last activity Sep 18, 2019 10:47PM
This is a group for anyone who loves Rosemary Sutcliff's books whether you be a new or old fan or you want to read her books and have not done so yet. ...more
Books, Blogs, Authors and More
— 3719 members
— last activity Oct 17, 2025 06:56AM
Need a place to advertise your blog? You can do that here. Need a place to advertise your book? You can do that here. Need a place to discuss books? Y ...more
Supporting Bookstores
— 81 members
— last activity May 03, 2017 05:09PM
The greatest shopping experience is when one pays a visit to the bookstore. Not only will you come across what could be considered beautiful eye candy ...more
The Indie Connection: Authors and Bloggers Unite!
— 253 members
— last activity Jul 10, 2025 10:35AM
This is a group for indie authors and bloggers both. Like Sherlock, we indie authors can't live without our bloggers. This group was made to help both ...more
Comments (showing 127-176)
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Through no intentional effort on my part, I seem to be starting 2017 out with nothing but HarperCollins books.
Abigail wrote: "Mara wrote: "I'm going to BookCon!!!!!!!!!!!!"I wish you a good journey! :)"
Thanks, Abigail! It's going to be so awesome!
Mara wrote: "I'm going to BookCon!!!!!!!!!!!!"I wish you a good journey! :)
In case anyone was wondering, I will be at BookCon in this year!
Thank you!!!! :) I did; I had a fabulous day. And it just keeps coming! Birthday wishes from swing friends and reading friends, belated prezzies. :)
Happy happy belated birthday Mara!!! I hope you had a wonderful day!!! :D
Thanks, Abigail! I almost forgot about my birthday! :)
Happy birthday!(My apologies for this being belated.)
So I've been Miss Absent, haven't I? Sorry; I just haven't had time for social media of any kind lately! So, so, so busy!
Went to the 10:00 premiere of The Maze Runner last night. Am now totally in love with that movie. Just wow. I can't even describe how awesome it is. Whether or not you've read the book - go see it!
I am going all of September without blogging. . . . .I actually think that not blogging is stressing me out more than blogging ever did. Or maybe September just wasn't the right time to take this forced holiday.
Mara wrote: "It has just been confirmed that Sherlock: Series 4 is getting a Christmas special! My day has just been made."This makes me very happy :) (That's what I have to say because I'm freaking out on the inside)
It has just been confirmed that Sherlock: Series 4 is getting a Christmas special! My day has just been made.
Mara wrote: "I would start with Nicholas Nickleby, then Oliver Twist, then Little Dorrit."Nicholas Nickleby it is. Thanks for the suggestion! :)
I would start with Nicholas Nickleby, then Oliver Twist, then Little Dorrit.
Okay, I wasn't really sure where else to put this, so I hope you don't mind me cluttering up your comments:I'm just about to make my first foray into Charles Dickens this summer (because I just can't consider myself well-read without having read Dickens :D), however I'm stumped at where to start. Since you seem to be a pretty big fan of his, which book would you suggest I read first? I was thinking David Copperfield or Nicholas Nickleby, but he's written quite a few novels and I don't know where to begin, honestly!
Your suggestion would be appreciated. :)
Katherine wrote: "Happy belated birthday Mara!!! I hope you had a fantastic day filled with books!!! :)"Thanks, Katherine! I did have a good day; it was nice and quiet with a good dinner, filming my first book haul, and watching a lot of BBC shows. My parents got me all 4 seasons of Downton Abbey, plus a complete collection of BBC Charles Dickens dramatizations, so yeah - lots of BBC!
Happy belated birthday Mara!!! I hope you had a fantastic day filled with books!!! :)
Would you believe it if I told you that I have shelf space? No, it's not because I purged (heaven help us if I ever have to do that). My dad finally built me another bookshelf. I was almost positive that it would be filled with the books I already have, but there's actually seven little shelves on it that are empty! That should last me until . . . . Christmas. If I stick to my buying plan.
I'm drowning in books again . . . But I don't feel as swamped now that I have a TBR (i.e. certain books I am waiting until certain months to read). Having a plan - albeit a tentative one - works so well relieving that reading stress that sometimes occurs.
Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you have a good one filled with fun, food, friends, and books (of course!).
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you got lots of good books and had lots of yummies!
Takes a snack to bed so the dwarves don't steal it. ;P
Quill washing isn't as hard as you might think. The crumbs don't really get in all that deep and you use a toothbrush to gently brush his quills, and that gets them all shiny and clean. Then after he's dry, he gets his oil (so he doesn't get dry skin) and nap time. ;) And in two weeks, we get to do it again! Because apparently he's a hedgie who needs two baths a month. He has a bad habit of eating his food in his sleeping bag, hence the crumbs in his quills.
Nope haha ;) I imagine it would be hard to wash out all of his quills, I wouldn't think it would be very pleasant for him.
He's getting better about his baths, but they exhaust him, poor little dude. I guess some hedgehogs do actually like bath time; Bilbo isn't one of them. But now he's a clean hedgie; no more crumbs in his quills (ha; we'll see how long that lasts). I'm very much like a hedgehog as well, except my hissing isn't just silliness. ;)
I can't imagine he would like bath day much, haha. I can understand his need for quiet time too, I am very much like a hedgehog ;).
Bilbo didn't enjoy Thanksgiving much, I don't think. It was bath day (he doesn't like bath day), and he was a little overwhelmed by all the people (though he was a very well behaved boy). So we retired early and read for a while. :)
Happy Thanksgiving! I had a very pleasant day. @Kel, best of luck finishing Nano!
Kel wrote: "A very happy Thanksgiving to you, too! And no, I shall not be reading too much ... I'll be too busy catching up on writng. Last few days of NaNoWriMo! Almost there!Enjoy the holiday and the books!"
In the hopes it doesn't jinx it, I'll offer my early congrats on NaNo! :)
Mara wrote: "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you have lots of good food and lots of fun! And don't spend too much time reading (like me). ;)"A very happy Thanksgiving to you, too! And no, I shall not be reading too much ... I'll be too busy catching up on writing. Last few days of NaNoWriMo! Almost there!
Enjoy the holiday and the books!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you have lots of good food and lots of fun! And don't spend too much time reading (like me). ;)
Saw Catching Fire last night. It was better than The Hunger Games, but of course still had flaws (namely, the main cast is still horrible!).
The movie was WAY better, but that may just be me being biased because I like Asa Butterfield. :)
Mara wrote: "Just in case you guys are wondering why the last two books in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Saga have suddenly disappeared from my shelves: I've decided to abandon the series. After flipping through X..."No point in finishing something you can't stand. Glad to know the movie was better than the book =)
Just in case you guys are wondering why the last two books in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Saga have suddenly disappeared from my shelves: I've decided to abandon the series. After flipping through Xenocide, I realized I just didn't have the patience to get through the rest of the series. And what was the point anyway? I only needed to read the first one for the movie (which was very good, by the way; the movie, that is, not the book).
@ Kel: Or you could plan a trip to Powell's at some point in your life. Seriously - it would be worth it.@ Katherine: Going to Powell's, one definitely has to plan on spending a lot of money. There is no such thing as going to Powell's and walking out with only a few books.
Mara wrote: "It is called Powell's City of Books. They have a website, too; check it out. The world's biggest used bookstore, it has seven floors and takes up an entire city block. It is a place every bookworm ..."It looks absolutely amazing! Too bad it's on the opposite side of the country from me. I suppose I must content myself with its online offerings and keep it in mind for whenever I'm next out west. ;)
Mara wrote: "My fall trip to my all-time favorite bookstore is complete . . . 16 books. How does one end up with so many books?! But on the bright side, I intended to get lots of books, and I got tons of ones t..."Sounds like a great haul!
@Katherine: Yes, I would be tempted as well ;P
Mara wrote: "My fall trip to my all-time favorite bookstore is complete . . . 16 books. How does one end up with so many books?! But on the bright side, I intended to get lots of books, and I got tons of ones t..."Oh my goodness Mara, can you imagine what would happen if both of us ended up in that bookstore... yeah, I'd probably buy the whole store, LOL!! I will definitely have to go there someday!
It is called Powell's City of Books. They have a website, too; check it out. The world's biggest used bookstore, it has seven floors and takes up an entire city block. It is a place every bookworm should plan to visit at least once.
Mara wrote: "My fall trip to my all-time favorite bookstore is complete . . . 16 books. How does one end up with so many books?! But on the bright side, I intended to get lots of books, and I got tons of ones t..."Okay, slightly jealous. (Not that I should be talking considering how many used book stores/BWB 40% off sales/Amazon buys/etc. I've hit.) ;) What is this mysterious, magical place of which you speak?
My fall trip to my all-time favorite bookstore is complete . . . 16 books. How does one end up with so many books?! But on the bright side, I intended to get lots of books, and I got tons of ones that I was looking for, plus a few surprise buys, and they were all hardcover and for super great prices. Can't complain!
Attention, everyone! On October 1, my blog is moving to a new location! It will from now on be known as The Reading Hedgehog! I am slowly moving all of my old log content over, but starting October 1, all new posts will be done on The Reading Hedgehog. Check out the new blog!http://thereadinghedgehog.blogspot.com/
