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Jamila 📚BOOKSTAGRAM📚

@bookofjamesly

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2026: 90/💯
@ jamheck 𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔…
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𝙸 𝚂𝚎𝚎 𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚟𝚎 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍🪦
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🎧𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟿-𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷, ★★★★★

i’ve had this book for a while, but now i wish i’d read it sooner! despite the subject matter, this was a comedy as well as a meaningful reflection on life, and it also made a great little love letter to NYC, one of my favorite cities. Bud Stanley is a divorced, middle-aged obituary writer who, one night after drinking a bit too much, writes and publishes his own obituary. it’s a farce, but no one is laughing. the company he works for can’t technically fire him since he’s “dead,” though they want to, so they place him on leave. in the interim, without a job to go to, he spends time with his BFF/landlord Tim and meets a girl that convinces him to start attending the wakes & funerals of strangers as a means to finding the meaning of his own life; poignant life lessons ensue. i enjoyed the listen; i giggled a lot and i was touched by many of the stories. highly recommend this one!
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: 87/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #iseeyouvecalledindead #johnkenney #bookstagram • humor • ficton • poignant • meaning of life • quick read • great narration • audiobook • book recommendations • book review by @bookofjamesly

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6

7 days ago

📚 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 📚
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Lots of good ones this month! Three five-star reads for me out of the 🔟 I finished:

📗 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 • long-awaited novel from Chloe Benjamin (I loved The Immortalists) that mixes science with sci-fi; time travel, alternate universes, Antarctica, funghi, apples, physics, grief, nostalgia… it’s all there. I truly enjoyed the experience of reading this book.

📕 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕤 • sequel to The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham; life, drama, and gossip at a New England boarding school. I loved everything about these books.

📘 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕎𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕒𝕪 • Elizabeth Strout constantly putting out meaningful bangers! Can truly say that she is one of my favorite authors; any new book of hers is an automatic read for me. This one’s about a guy named Artie who’s struggling with loneliness.

What books stood out to you in September? What’s on your October TBR?
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: SEPT26
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #septemberreads #septemberwrapup #bookstagram • five-star reads • favorite authors • beach reads • book club • book reviews • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

15

1

14 days ago

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕃𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖
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📒𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪, 𝕤𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟡, ★★★★

I debated whether I should include short stories in my posts, but since I don’t read that many (and since I love Fredrik Backman’s words) I will include this one. I’ve been researching holiday-themed books since I’ll be hosting my neighborhood book club in December for a cookie exchange; I’d like to pick a holiday/winter book to discuss at that meeting. (This won’t be it!) The story takes place on Christmas Eve in the form of a letter from estranged father to son, and, as usual from Backman, is meaningful and intentional. How much is a life worth, and how can we use ours for good? I always learn something from his words, and this was no exception.
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: 86/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #thedealofalifetime #fredrikbackman #bookstagram • short story • wintry • meaningful • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

3

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14 days ago

𝙹𝚞𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎👩🏾‍⚖️
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🎧𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸-𝟸𝟾, ★★★★

My zoom book club is discussing this one soon, and it’s the first James Patterson book I’ve ever read! Funny enough, my neighborhood book club picked another JP book for October, so I’m getting double the experience. This particular book was co-authored by Viola Davis, and she read the audiobook as well. It was a page-turner for sure, about a controversial abortion case in rural Alabama. I love a good courtroom drama, and while I will say this was no John Grisham (my gold standard, lol), I still enjoyed the read. It was not as detailed as courtroom stuff usually is in books I’ve read, but that made the book move faster… and it was not completely realistic, but that’s why it’s fiction! Great first experience with JP and I’m looking forward to the other one I’ll be reading this month (one he co-authored with Dolly Parton). What are your thoughts on James Patterson? I have viewed his plethora of books in a certain kind of way (i call them airport books) and never picked one up, but I’m now open to more. If you’re a fan, what’s your favorite?
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: 85/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #judgestone #jamespatterson #violadavis #bookstagram • fiction • rural alabama • controversial court case • abortion law • celebrity collab • courtroom drama • book club • book review • book recommendation • by @bookofjamesly

3

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14 days ago

ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʙᴇɴɴᴇᴛᴛ ꜱɪꜱᴛᴇʀ
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📱🎧ᴋɪɴᴅʟᴇ+ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ, ꜱᴇᴘᴛᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 18-26, ★★★✫

We chose this for neighborhood book club in September, and though I was excited to read it, it left me wishing that 1) it had been a little bit shorter, and 2) that the Regency Era had been a little more forthcoming for strong female characters. I mean, I get it! The times were not kind. But! Truly there was so much back and forth and almost in this book that I was exasperated by the end (when we finally get where we were going). I was told that the show was much better, or at least I would enjoy the story more once I watched it, and I truly believe I will… but for the moment it was just a bit bland. Have you read this one? What did you think?
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: 84/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #theotherbennetsister #janicehadlow #bookstagram • pride & predjudice spinoff • regency era • slow burn romance • strong female characters • book to tv • book club • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

6

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14 days ago

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕤🐎
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📕𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣, 𝕤𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟘-𝟚𝟝, ★★★★★

quintessential salacious, gossipy, classic elin hilderbrand 🤝🏽 i don’t remember exactly why i set out to read all of elin’s novels a couple years back, but i have enjoyed the ride. i hope she ends up writing more, one day, but i enjoyed this series as a fond farewell. and the fresh voice of her daughter shelby really added to the experience! and i learned a lot from all the Youths 😂 if you read The Academy last year, you will enjoy the sequel and seeing what happens next with these kids. i need more!!
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: 83/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #thethoroughbreds #elinhilderbrand #shelbycunningham #bookstagram • The Academy • second in a series • gossipy • the Youth • so high school • boarding school • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

8

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15 days ago

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒦𝓃𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝓃🌙🗡️
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🎧𝒶𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀, 𝓈𝑒𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝟣𝟢-𝟣𝟫, ★★★★

i was excited to read this sequel, and love that it followed the first book so quickly. i was fascinated by the tale of the diviners and knights in book one, and absolutely fell in love with Bartholomew 🩶 the sweet/crotchety gargoyle is back in book 2, thank goodness, because the actual plot was a bit less for me than the first one. the underlying romance was the highlight, still ongoing between rory & sybil, but with complications from memory loss and forced marriages. it was still an entertaining spicy read! rachel gillig is a favorite!
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: 82/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #theknaveandthemoon #rachelgillig #thestonewaterkingdom #bookstagram • duology • fantasy series • romantasy • gothic • bartholomew🩶 • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

5

1

16 days ago

7

2

21 days ago

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘞𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘺⛵️
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📱𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 17, ★★★★★

You’ve heard me talk about my love for Elizabeth Strout before. I am to the point where she’s an automatic read for me. This is her latest; it’s short & poignant; I read it in one sitting during a long work day. This book speaks a lot to the loneliness epidemic and how we lose our sense of community as we age. Artie is a high school teacher who is beloved by his students, married with an adult child, surrounded by people who genuinely like him, but he still feels a bit lost. And he really *feels* everything. We get an inside look at his thoughts about the people he’s close to and how they affect each other, and it’s quietly brilliant. If you’ve read Strout’s other works and enjoy her writing and her amazing characters, I would love to recommend this one to you as well. 🩵
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: 80/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #thethingsweneversay #elizabethstrout #bookstagram • contemporary fiction • favorite authors • short reads • poignant • loneliness • relationships • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

5

1

21 days ago

𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪🌳🍎🇦🇶🤿
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🎧𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜, 𝕤𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙-𝟙𝟘, ★★★★★

I knew that I would love this one when I heard about it months ago. I love Chloe Benjamin’s writing and the premise of this one truly grabbed me. Antarctica! Alternate Universes! Time Travel! A love letter to nature! And a love story, ultimately! I am here for it all. I don’t want to spoil this one for you, so I won’t say much. It is a longer book, but I couldn’t put it down. Loved the plot and the characters and how the story made me feel. Can’t ask for more than that! This is one of those stories I would love to read again… and very well might. Anxiously awaiting any of my friends to read this one, because I need to talk it out. Let me know when you finish it!!
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: 79/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #understory #chloebenjamin #bookstagram • speculative fiction • sci-fi • antarctica • alternate universe • science • beautiful writing • love letter to nature • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

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25 days ago

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵
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📘𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 6-𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 8, ★★★★

We are reading this at church with @juliebholly and doing a fun little Theology on Tap series every other week to discuss. Pizza! This is all about the pursuit of God and how we might actively seek a relationship with Him, and (dare I say it) it’s a fairly simple book to read, maybe a little repetitive, but overall a good message.
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: 78/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #pursuit #scottchrostek #bookstagram • christian • nonfiction • book study • theology on tap • book review • book recommendation • by @bookofjamesly

6

1

a month ago

𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙳𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎🔥
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📱𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎, 𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝟸𝟻-𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟼, ★★✫

i liked the idea of this one, but from the start i just didn’t enjoy the writing. it wasn’t as polished as i would expect, and it was gory and more of a social thriller/horror story than historical fiction. and don’t get me wrong, i love horror when i’m expecting horror. i wanted to DNF this book multiple times— it got cringey & squirmy & i had to skim certain parts that were just a bit too much when i didn’t expect it to be. but i like the intention of telling the stories of rebellion and love the entire sentiment of the book that you’ve got to rise up. so, mixed reviews. have you read this one? would love to hear your thoughts.
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: 77/💯
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🏷️ #bookofjamesly2026 #burndownmastershouse #claycane #bookstagram • historical fiction • social thriller • horror • rebellion • short stories • book review • book recommendations • by @bookofjamesly

5

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a month ago