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Today in Bookish and Literary History, July 16

1951 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger | US | 234 | πŸ†πŸ† | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling | UK | 672 | πŸ†πŸ†πŸ† 2013 Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish by David Rakoff | United States | 113 | πŸ† 2019 The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | US | 224 | πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ† 2019 The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter | United States | 284 | πŸ† 2024 The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness | United States | 480 | πŸ† 2024 The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman | US | 688 | πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ† 2026 Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Casey | Ireland / United Kingdom | 336 | πŸ’‘ Did you know? ⭕ When J. D. Salinger published The Catcher in the Rye on this exact day in 1951, he drew heavily from his own traumatic WWII experiences to shape Holden Caulfield’s deep emotional alienation, creating a generation-defining masterpiece that spent thirty weeks on the bestseller list. ⭕ Jane Casey's standalone thriller Everything She Didn't Say utilizes a re...

Em by Kim ThΓΊy (2020): A Review

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Title : Em Author : Kim ThΓΊy Translator : Sheila Fischman Publication Year : 2020 published; 2021 translated Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 160 Source : audiobook @storytel.tr Genre : literary fiction, historical fiction, trauma fiction, war fiction Awards : Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2021), Dublin Literary Award Nominee for Shortlist (2023) Em by Kim ThΓΊy is the story of lost lives, lands, chances, and even plants, all marked and disfigured by the atrocities of the Vietnam War. The novel moves through the lives of those on the front lines — mostly victims and a few perpetrators — without ever whitewashing what was done or what was endured. Although the story moves among many different characters, they are all woven together through family ties, adoption, and destiny. It also traces those who leave their more comfortable lives behind to cross the world in the hope of making a difference. Every fragment is rooted in historical fact; each chapter feels like a distilled moment, a ...

Today in Bookish and Literary History, July 15

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2014 World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters | United States | 320 | πŸ†πŸ† 2025 An Inside Job by Daniel Silva | US | 416 | 2025 If You Love It, Let It Kill You by Hannah Pittard | US | 304 | πŸ† 2025 The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks | UK | 336 | 2025 A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna | United Kingdom | 336 | πŸ† 2025 My Train Leaves at Three by Natalie Guerrero | United States | 288 | πŸ† πŸ’‘ Did you know? ⭕ Ben H. Winters' World of Trouble concludes his Edgar Award-winning apocalyptic trilogy with a police detective who continues to solve mysteries even as a massive asteroid looms days away from ending humanity, proving that our search for truth remains a fundamental human drive regardless of impending doom. ⭕ Hannah Pittard wrote If You Love It, Let It Kill You as a daring, razor-sharp piece of autofiction that plays with the boundaries of creative writing and ownership of personal history, incorporating hilarious, surreal interactions with a talking cat ...

Today in Bookish and Literary History, July 14

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1946 Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock | US | 527 | 2015 Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee | US | 278 | πŸ†πŸ† 2020 The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones | US | 320 | πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ† 2020 Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell | UK | 576 | πŸ† 2020 Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford | US | 304 | πŸ†πŸ† 2020 Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby | US | 304 | πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ†πŸ† 2020 The Order by Daniel Silva | US | 464 | 2020 Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump | US | 240 | πŸ† 2026 People Watching in the Desert by Cali Adeline | US | 400 | 2026 The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager | US | 368 | 2026 Famous Men by Julie Buntin | US | 400 | 2026 I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder | UK/US | 272 | 2026 The Forest Becomes Her by Julie Carrick Dalton | US | 336 | 2026 The Great Game by Arvind Ethan David | US | 320 | 2026 Make Nice by Ryan Effgen | US | 336 | 2026 Lady X by Molly Fader | US | 352 | 2026 Hustle, Baby by Priya Guns | US | 304 | 2026 Th...

Today in Bookish and Literary History, July 13

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2021 A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan | US | 320 | 2021 Magma by Thora HjΓΆrleifsdΓ³ttir | Iceland | 208 | 2021 Appleseed by Matt Bell | US | 465 | πŸ†πŸ† 2026 Handsome by Ezra Palmer | US | 240 | πŸ’‘ Did you know? ⭕ Matt Bell conducted years of extensive historical research into early American agriculture and Johnny Appleseed legends to build the foundation for Appleseed , transforming a standard ecological warning into a mythic sci-fi epic ⭕ Beth Morgan’s bizarrely brilliant contemporary fiction debut A Touch of Jen skewers modern internet obsession, tracking a couple whose mutual fixation on an Instagram influencer spirals into a surreal, multi-dimensional nightmare that completely subverts traditional relationship dramas. ⭕ Thora HjΓΆrleifsdΓ³ttir’s international success Magma uses short, incendiary vignettes to offer a visceral, hyper-focused, and poetic exploration of a young woman navigating the toxic undercurrents of emotional manipulation in Iceland, proving that shorter, independent v...