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#46 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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Karma: 119230421
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
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#47 |
Series Addict
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Karma: 167189477
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Florida, USA
Device: Kindle Paperwhite (2nd Gen)
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To me, a 5-star is a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading, that evoked emotion, and/or made me really want to read the next one in the series or another one by the author.
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#48 |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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Karma: 315160596
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Norfolk, England
Device: Kindle Oasis
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For me, a 5 star read is one that kept me awake reading it.
![]() I do reserve a 5+ award for books that are special even in that category. |
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#49 |
Wizard
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Karma: 25151986
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Seattle, US
Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Libra 2, Pocketbook Verse Pro Color
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The books I read this year that I couldn't stop thinking about and actually probably changed me in some way were also books I didn't much enjoy reading. It's hard to know how to rate them.
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#50 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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Karma: 119230421
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
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#51 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 52613881
Join Date: Oct 2010
Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip
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I don't assign ratings or rank what I read--I just enjoy some books more than others. I rarely actively dislike a book, probably because I usually stay in my comfort zone when selecting reading material, which is both a good and a bad thing.
For fiction this year, I especially enjoyed Linwood Barclay's Trust Your Eyes and Suzanne Rindell's The Other Typist, and for nonfiction, Stephen E. Ambrose's D-Day and Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day. |
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#52 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 67780237
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: none
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I read a few in that pile this year. All are highly recommended:
We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden. |
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#53 |
languorous autodidact ✦
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Karma: 44667380
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: smiling with the rising sun
Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage
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To add to the discussion, I define 5-star as "Favourite". I don't rate simply by "quality" really, but more by a mixture of quality and/or impact and/or simple immersion and enjoyment of the story. If a book is high enough in only one of those three areas then it could still be 5-star depending, but usually it's some combination of the three. Like most of us I'd guess, it's really more of an instinct for me than anything else in rating - I don't really try to judge books by some specific criteria; it's more just do I really love it for one reason or another and if yes then it's 5-star.
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#54 |
Can one read too much?
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Karma: 2487799
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Naples, FL
Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650
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My Top 5 for the year:
My Invented Country by Isabel Allende -- mostly memoir, but travel narrative and history, too. Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright -- memoir of hitting rock bottom as an alcoholic and coming back. Until I Say Good-Bye by Susan Spencer-Wendel -- yet another memoir, this time by a forty-something mother of three with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), naturally I felt for her family, but the book isn't sad at all! The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope -- yes, it's a big, fat tome ... one that sucked me in right away! The Good House by Ann Leary -- you'll want to shake the protagonist of this novel ... many times! I listened to it at bedtime, finding myself eagerly awaiting the next installment during the day. |
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#55 |
Fanatic
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA
Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.
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Hmm...working backwords in order of books read (from my Goodreads list)
The First Phone Call from Heaven, by Mitch Albom Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood (currently reading The Year of the Flood, #2 in the trilogy) We Need to Talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shriver Pines, and Wayward, the first 2 in the trilogy by Blake Crouch (I'm really enjoying his books these days) The Wool series, by Hugh Howey (The Wool Omnibus with parts 1-5, The Shift Omnibus with parts 6-8, and Dust, the final part of the series). I was reading this series well into many what-turned-out-to-be late nights. The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker (sweet and sad, but couldn't put it down) Simple Simon, by Ryne Douglas Pearson And that's just since last September. ![]() |
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#56 | ||
Wizard
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Karma: 5843878
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: UK
Device: Pocketbook Pro 903, (beloved Pocketbook 360 RIP), Kobo Mini, Kobo Aura
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#57 |
Wizard
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Karma: 13369310
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Launceston, Tasmania
Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet
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My only five star book for the year was Breach of Trust by Andrew. J. Bacevich. He gives an excellent outline of the effects of the United State's decision to go to an all volunteer army, replete with facts and evidence. And he has a superb talent for pithy phrases and descriptions. My favourite quote is '...no one believes that the United States accomplished its objectives in Iraq, unless the main objective was to commit mayhem, apply a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding, and then declare the patient stable while hastily leaving the scene of the crime.'
I plan to download all his books which are in ebook form. |
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#58 |
Bookworm
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Device: Nook Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab3, Sony PRS700, Sony PRS505
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The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith is probably imo my best reads 2013. It is a Sci Fi, not quite my usual fare. The book asks questions that the author handles in a most unusual way, it challenges the reader to think, and I find I am still considering the Author's viewpoint. It is for that reason that out of 5 stars, I would give it ten.
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#59 |
Indie Advocate
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Karma: 18794463
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: Kindle
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Here are the titles I have with 5 stars in Goodreads:
I am Legend - Richard Matheson The Other Alexander (The Bow of Heaven #1) - Andrew Levkoff Black Swan Green - David Mitchell The Hangman's Replacement: Sprout of Disruption - Taona Dumisani Chiveneko Passage - Connie Willis Thugs Like Us - John Carnell Waking the Moon - Elizabeth Hand Bangkok Wet - Simon Royle Shift - Hugh Howey Taking the Highway - M. H. Mead |
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#60 |
Evangelist
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Karma: 3409790
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Maui
Device: kindle
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Last Ape Standing Walter, Chip Non-Fiction
Deception Cove Castle, Jayne Romance/Mystery Un Lun Dun Mieville, China Young Adult Notorious Nineteen Evanovich, Janet Mystery This was actually a bleak year for me regarding books. Thank goodness for Last Ape Standing. |
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