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Hello! My name is Megan. 90% of life is books: face behind @the_spines, publishing professional, and all day reader. So glad you're here!
![[gifted 📖] hellllo, five star review alert! 🚨 I finished reading this very hyped book, CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert, this week and I just hit publish on my review. Head over ✨to the blog ✨for my full (spoiler-free☺️) take!
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Here’s the mini scoop: CITY OF GIRLS balances the frivolity of youth and the fast-paced excitement of New York City with the significantly more serious scenery of World War II and its aftermath. It spans most of a young woman’s lifetime and fluctuates realistically from terrible choices and selfish behavior to the more altruistic perspective that comes with age and experience. I’d personally love to see more books that depict women having free, consensual, safe sex and having an amazing time doing it! Books like this are helping open the conversation and take a step closer to equality. 🙌🏻
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💭 Have you read this book? Thoughts? OR Did you read her first book, EAT PRAY LOVE?💭 let’s chat about them! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1565725133893-UA9BI7KAA2SRUTREK3ER/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kHem505q6McQd8XRhQc9zkRZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxpEURhgSBEh9ILe0HKIG3CcOCklsxWwam3CdWF6Xw7jwVv5P97BEtB5XaVnmvMtTA/image-asset.jpeg)
![Are you into astrology? 💫 personally, I am definitely far from it, but I *am* a proud Leo! i strongly identify with the traits of my star sign and I even have a tattoo that is an homage to Leo the Lion, as you can see. I don’t read my horoscopes or place any real worth in the pseudo-science of star reading, BUT I picked up this contemporary romance, STAR-CROSSED, [gifted!] because I find astrology kind of amusing and fun to talk about! •
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Unfortunately this book was just *not* it for me and I gave it only two ⭐️⭐️ stars in my rating, due to lots of plot weirdness, astrology being taken way way too seriously, and its 450+ page count. You can read my whole review over ✨on the blog✨ and see for yourself if it’s something you’d like!
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💭 What’s your star sign? Do you identify with the traits associated with it? 💭 the personality-centric part of astrology is what I find endlessly fascinating, so tell me below! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1565117388902-4MFSWFL2C9UOTPJE7L6L/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kICZhzhlpkTfZgBvAXFSxyhZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpw5opcnmBGTrSvl2qRMpP26yA6cXWreZBPZk6SUOsPorfERqjnAqscnEdqlY2BJvs0/image-asset.jpeg)
![Say it with me: I will 👏🏼never👏🏼 take a summer Chicago day for granted!! Sitting at the pool, enjoying a new book [CITY OF GIRLS // Elizabeth Gilbert], and thinking about how I’ll scroll down to this photo in the middle of a January snowstorm to try to remember what the hot sun feels like. 😂 •
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Hope you all have a beautiful weekend! I’m hoping to do a bit of thrifting today and a bit of reading, per usual. I’ll share on stories if I find anything good! 👀
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💭 pool or ocean/lake?💭 personally I’d always pick lake / ocean. Although a conversation with Murat yesterday reminded me of my mortal (and well-earned) fear of jellyfish....](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1564852049856-XCI32KOZKMP8EOYA9MAL/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kICZhzhlpkTfZgBvAXFSxyhZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpw5opcnmBGTrSvl2qRMpP26yA6cXWreZBPZk6SUOsPorfERqjnAqscnEdqlY2BJvs0/image-asset.jpeg)
![[*gifted 📖] Quick July wrap-up before we move on to August? 📚👀 I had a very good reading month with a new nonfiction favorite AND a really adorable contemporary romance that I can’t wait to tell you more about! Full reviews for many of these can be found over ✨on the blog!✨
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BURN THE PLACE* // Iliana Regan : ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
STRANGER IN THE HOUSE // Shari Lapena: ⭐️⭐️
AMERICAN ROYALS* // Katherine McGee: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THREE WOMEN* // Lisa Taddeo: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE* // Lori Gottlieb ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STAR-CROSSED* // Minnie Darke: ⭐️⭐️
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As you can see, a healthy mix of love and ... not love ... this month. 😉 💭 how about you? Favorites and least favorites of July? 💭👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1564680612640-FNRN8K7I1GFH13H9S3XY/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kHem505q6McQd8XRhQc9zkRZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxpEURhgSBEh9ILe0HKIG3CcOCklsxWwam3CdWF6Xw7jwVv5P97BEtB5XaVnmvMtTA/image-asset.jpeg)
![[gifted 📖] Review time! I finished THREE WOMEN by Lisa Taddeo the other day and had a good chat about it with @rooreads & @dappledpages at book club, though it was one of those books that took some sitting with for me to come to a real conclusion and write a review. Head over ✨to the blog✨ for all my thoughts on this! Here’s a snippet:
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Make no mistake— this book is a story about sex and desire, but it is about sex and desire through the lens of trauma. It’s being marketed slightly differently, so this surprised me. I ultimately think it was an important book, but not a new favorite. I like that Taddeo writes nonfiction as though it is the most moving piece of fiction and that she shows both a very valuable objectivity and a deep sensitivity when writing about challenging topics. However, I realized after putting the book down that it left an arms-length impression on me because the author is regurgitating other people’s stories, even if she did so beautifully. I would have loved this book so much more if the author had left her own footprint within these pages and bared some of her soul, instead of relying on the baring of others’.
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💭 have you heard about this book or read it yourself? Agree? Disagree?💭 let’s chat! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1564507703990-0B5U325O44NXBX49A87E/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kICZhzhlpkTfZgBvAXFSxyhZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpw5opcnmBGTrSvl2qRMpP26yA6cXWreZBPZk6SUOsPorfERqjnAqscnEdqlY2BJvs0/image-asset.jpeg)
![[gifted 📖] hiii! Happy Sunday, best day of the week. 🙌🏻 this weekend I, in typical Megan fashion, kept leaving my books all over the city SO I started a new one while in the middle of THREE WOMEN. 👀 very unlike me, as I do not read multiple books at once. However, this cutie called STAR-CROSSED by Minnie Darke is a fun one so far. The world the characters live in reminds me of somewhere like Charleston and everything is sprinkled in unicorn dust. ✨ will keep you updated on it!
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Also off to book club later today, so pretty ideal weekend. 💭 What’re you all up to and what’re you readin? 💭](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1564339481791-2Z3OT3MKVZYJVKSOSBDR/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kICZhzhlpkTfZgBvAXFSxyhZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpw5opcnmBGTrSvl2qRMpP26yA6cXWreZBPZk6SUOsPorfERqjnAqscnEdqlY2BJvs0/image-asset.jpeg)
![[gifted 📖] hi friends! I started a new *highly anticipated* and very hyped book yesterday and I’m really excited to dig into it! The writing style belies the nonfiction nature of each story, which is so interesting, and the three different narratives leave a lot of space for personal interpretation and reflection. This is my book club book for the month and I can already tell we are going to have a LOT to talk about. Excited to report back once I get in deeper!
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PS doesn’t it look like I’m in a tropical paradise in this photo?? I swear I’m still in the concrete jungle of downtown Chicago. 😉
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💭 have you heard anything about this book? Already read it? 💭let me know what you think about it and if it’s up your alley below! 👇🏼👇🏼](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1563997049283-E1OZ5V0UYY9LYPMQ4B3E/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kHem505q6McQd8XRhQc9zkRZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxpEURhgSBEh9ILe0HKIG3CcOCklsxWwam3CdWF6Xw7jwVv5P97BEtB5XaVnmvMtTA/image-asset.jpeg)
![[gifted 📖] hi friends! Coming at you with a review for the first time in a little while AND it’s a five star review at that. 👀 MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE // Lori Gottlieb is a big nonfiction brick and also a journey I would highly recommend you embark on if the premise sparks interest. Full review is over ✨on the blog✨ as always, but here’s a mini:
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I, like many people in this time of constant mental health talk, am very curious about therapy. This book seemed like the perfect foray into the topic, since the author takes us into the therapists room both as a client and as a psychiatrist. I found myself so consistently invested in this book because it’s doing the hard work of normalizing exercising good mental health while also conveying some very helpful and comforting pieces of encouragement and enlightenment that I personally found so practical and insightful. I would happily sit down and read another 400 pages inside Lori Gottlieb’s office! •
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💭 anyone else out there read this book? Or are you curious about it?💭 let’s chat! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56db33791d07c0ad5e0af15f/1563816440082-EMVMN0S596OZUIOF9JBQ/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kICZhzhlpkTfZgBvAXFSxyhZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpw5opcnmBGTrSvl2qRMpP26yA6cXWreZBPZk6SUOsPorfERqjnAqscnEdqlY2BJvs0/image-asset.jpeg)
GOODREADS CHALLENGE:
27/65
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Big Little Lies still has the best music intertwined with the most cinematic moments -
wow what a rollercoaster of a thread 👀 https://t.co/X6Q2dMuxBw
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unpopular opinions are nearly always just pretty popular opinions dipped in a conspiratorial tone
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hello, here are some thrillers you should actually read! They’ve been vetted and approved for gasps and betrayals.… https://t.co/AvGzWOVHCT
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Being in a relationship is like 40% bringing the other person water
Hi Friends! Another installment in my week in my life series, this time taking you through everything I do to set up paid collaborations, run my Instagram account, and go to my 9-5 job in publishing.