1,432 books
—
1,791 voters
to-read
(913)
currently-reading (0)
read (578)
did-not-finish (0)
strong-females (113)
it-s-a-brutal-world (100)
well-written-literary-fiction (90)
favorites (78)
lonely-or-oddball-narrators (70)
reallywant_to_read (68)
race-and-identity (67)
coming-of-age (66)
currently-reading (0)
read (578)
did-not-finish (0)
strong-females (113)
it-s-a-brutal-world (100)
well-written-literary-fiction (90)
favorites (78)
lonely-or-oddball-narrators (70)
reallywant_to_read (68)
race-and-identity (67)
coming-of-age (66)
thoughtful-non-fiction
(64)
young-adult (55)
complex-relationships (46)
sci-fi-and-fantasy (45)
twisted-plots (35)
memorable-biographies (32)
can-we-please-be-friends (26)
not-of-one-but-many (25)
empathy (24)
unsettling-in-a-slightly-indefinabl (24)
love (23)
psychological-thrillers (22)
young-adult (55)
complex-relationships (46)
sci-fi-and-fantasy (45)
twisted-plots (35)
memorable-biographies (32)
can-we-please-be-friends (26)
not-of-one-but-many (25)
empathy (24)
unsettling-in-a-slightly-indefinabl (24)
love (23)
psychological-thrillers (22)
dystopian-post-apocalyptic-fiction
(21)
in-all-this-madness-war (21)
fantasy-and-sci-fi-for-dreamers (20)
mysteries-with-substance (19)
wilderness (18)
good-short-story-collections (16)
dark-and-disturbing (15)
lbgtqia (15)
our-postmodern-life (13)
artist-life (12)
eyeballs-required (11)
humor (11)
in-all-this-madness-war (21)
fantasy-and-sci-fi-for-dreamers (20)
mysteries-with-substance (19)
wilderness (18)
good-short-story-collections (16)
dark-and-disturbing (15)
lbgtqia (15)
our-postmodern-life (13)
artist-life (12)
eyeballs-required (11)
humor (11)
“The hipster contingent has taken over a lot of the commercial streets, and now you can't go two blocks without running into some up-its-own-ass artisanal shop with a name that's just two random nouns thrown together with an ampersand. Satchel & Dove. Twig & Petal. Those are the places where you find out there's such a thing as boutique tarragon mayonnaise and that a baby onesie can legitimately cost sixty dollars. (p.169)”
― Like No Other
― Like No Other
“These dogs didn't bother to bond with us, but stuck out their paws, not to shake hands but so we could slit their wrists and get it the hell over with. (p.51)”
― We Are Taking Only What We Need
― We Are Taking Only What We Need
“I keep my chin tucked in, eyes on the ground, the same stance I have when I pass by the guys from my neighborhood who laugh and call me Urkel because I wear a big backpack and don't hang out on the street all night smoking Kool XLs--and by the way, we need a new black nerd archetype; also, when are these wannabe gangstas watching reruns of Family Matters?”
― Like No Other
― Like No Other
“And then I get up because it is the only thing I can do. I step out of the ditch and brush the ants off because it is the only thing I can do. I follow Randall around the house because it is the only thing I can do; if this is strength, if this is weakness, this is what I do. I hiccup, but tears still run down my face. After Mama died, Daddy said, What are you crying for? Stop crying. Crying ain’t going to change anything. We never stopped crying. We just did it quieter. We hid it. I learned how to cry so that almost no tears leaked out of my eyes, so that I swallowed the hot salty water of them and felt them running down my throat. This was the only thing that we could do. I swallow and squint through the tears, and I run.”
― Salvage the Bones
― Salvage the Bones
“I will tie the glass and stone with string, hang the shards above my bed, so that they will flash in the dark and tell the story of Katrina, the mother that swept into the Gulf and slaughtered. Her chariot was a storm so great and black the Greeks would say it was harnessed to dragons. She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies, as blind puppies, as sun-starved newly hatched baby snakes. She left us a dark Gulf and salt burned land. She left us to learn to crawl. She left us to salvage. Katrina is the mother we will remember until the next mother with large, merciless hands, committed to blood, comes.”
― Salvage the Bones
― Salvage the Bones
Ali’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ali’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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