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  <title><![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]></title>
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
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  <published>2005</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>5</votes>
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  <date_added>Thu May 31 17:39:09 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 20:27:57 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Here's the review from my twice-yearly zine (October '06). I think I preferred Link's debut short story collection, Stranger Things Happen, but I definitely appreciate what she's aiming for her. Nobody writes stories quite like hers:<br/><br/>Kelly Link is herself no stranger to the bizarre,<br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1571749">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.10</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>84</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Highly original.&quot;-<em>Publishers Weekly</em> (starred review)</p> 		<p>&quot;Dazzling.&quot;-<em>Entertainment Weekly</em> (grade: A, Editor's Choice) </p> 		<p>&quot;Darkly playful.&quot;-Michael Chabon </p> 		<p>Kelly Link's engaging and funny stories riff on haunted convenience stores, husbands and wives, rabbits, zombies, weekly apocalyptic poker parties, witches, and cannons. Includes Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winners. A Best of the Year pick from <em>TIME,</em> Salon.com, and Book Sense. Illustrated by Shelley Jackson.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>7</votes>
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  <read_at>Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Dec 05 19:38:08 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 05 19:40:34 -0800 2007</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Link garners effusive praise from Jonathan Lethem, China Mieville, Michael Chabon, Peter Straub, Alice Sebold, et al. Sometimes I get it, and sometimes I don't. Some of her stories I enjoy, some of them I don't. <br/><br/>For example, take the two stories in this collection that I had read previou...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10012380">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Rob]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Highly original.&quot;-<em>Publishers Weekly</em> (starred review)</p> 		<p>&quot;Dazzling.&quot;-<em>Entertainment Weekly</em> (grade: A, Editor's Choice) </p> 		<p>&quot;Darkly playful.&quot;-Michael Chabon </p> 		<p>Kelly Link's engaging and funny stories riff on haunted convenience stores, husbands and wives, rabbits, zombies, weekly apocalyptic poker parties, witches, and cannons. Includes Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winners. A Best of the Year pick from <em>TIME,</em> Salon.com, and Book Sense. Illustrated by Shelley Jackson.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Creighton ]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 27 06:49:13 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 09 17:48:03 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Kelly Link’s <em>Magic for Beginners</em> collection. Pretty awesome. A lot of “coming of age” stuff and adolescent themes. But beyond charming and cute. Insightful and provocative. And sexy in that “I just found out what sexy is” sort of way. Highlights include “The Faery Handbag” (makes you b...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2437423">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Emily]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Wed May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue May 06 11:16:50 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed May 21 06:47:08 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Nine short stories of magical realism, stories that shift effortlessly from fairy-tale mode to a much more naturalistic mode to surreal absurdity.<br/><br/>The thing about these stories--the frustrating, beautiful thing--is that they are not merely hard to understand. They resist all efforts to un...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21710024">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21710024]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>25993499</id>
    <user>
    <id>1234691</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Cheryl Lali]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 01 02:05:19 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 10 21:43:16 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This collection of surreal short stories is one of the most striking books I've read in...my life. There is something utterly primal about the odd goings on in these tales that speaks to one's subconscious more loudly than to one's consciousness. These stories are not weird for weirdness' sake, neit...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25993499">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25993499]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25993499]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>30382766</id>
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    <id>1227547</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nancy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Melrose, MA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
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  <date_added>Sun Aug 17 11:49:07 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Aug 17 11:56:54 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I can't give Magic For Beginners a rating, because it's simply a book that wasn't &quot;for me.&quot; It's not fantasy; it's magic realism, and personally, I need some recognizable logic and structure in fiction. Kelly Link is a finely skilled writer, and there's many a delightful turn of phrase, bu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30382766">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30382766]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Jen]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone tired of the same old same old]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[2005 Best American Short Stories ]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Nov 15 07:54:05 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 15 12:21:16 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>3</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[  I read one short story by Kelly Link in an anthology and knew that she was magical.  I had to have more, so I stole my man's copy of Magic for Beginners and read through it in one sitting. The realm of the fantastic is usually not my thing, but well-written creative pieces are and this book defini...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37787893">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37787893]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37787893]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20207115</id>
    <user>
    <id>1084853</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Michael]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1084853-michael-hartford]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Apr 15 05:53:13 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Apr 15 05:53:55 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[    I want it to be about good and evil and true love, and it should also be funny. No talking animals. Not too much fooling around with the narrative structure. The ending should be happy but still be realistic, believable, you know, and there shouldn’t be a moral although we should be able to th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20207115">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20207115]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20207115]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>19049000</id>
    <user>
    <id>655483</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dusty]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/655483-dusty]]></link>
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  <isbn>0156031876</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780156031875</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">212</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="read-in-2008" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 30 19:14:09 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 16 23:07:54 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Nothing is impossible in a Kelly Link story. There are nine stories in this collection, and while a few of these shine more luminously than the others, <em>all</em> are read-worthy. That is not a compliment I would give many one-author short story anthologies, most of which resemble pop albums -- a few notew...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19049000">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19049000]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19049000]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>13560477</id>
    <user>
    <id>30940</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Benjamin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/30940-benjamin]]></link>
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  <isbn>0156031876</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780156031875</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">212</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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            <shelf name="bedside-reading" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 25 15:38:32 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Mar 31 18:04:35 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It could be that I am simply unpleasable; or that these stories would have tickled the part of me that enjoys clever writing had I simply read them at the right time. But as it is, this book was a real grind for me to get through.<br/><br/>It could have been the clever turns-of-phrase that exposed...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13560477">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13560477]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13560477]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>312586</id>
    <user>
    <id>30800</id>
    <name><![CDATA[oriana]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/30800-oriana]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="phenomenal" />
        <shelf name="read-2009" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 18 17:42:10 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 16:45:34 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>4</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Reading Kelly Link makes me wonder why anyone else ever tries to write anything at all. Honestly. I mean, I'm sorry to have to say this to all the people who write short stories and everything, but &quot;Stone Animals&quot; is the absolute very best short story that has ever been written ever. Oh, w...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/312586">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/312586]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/312586]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>27296343</id>
    <user>
    <id>1328495</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Thomas]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Green Isle, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1328495-thomas]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1222046015p3/1328495.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <isbn>0156031876</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780156031875</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">212</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170652861s/66657.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66657.Magic_for_Beginners</link>
  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 15 06:26:25 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 15 06:32:45 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I marvel at Kelly Link's raw imaginative power, darker than a Grimm fairy tale, fluid as dream.<br/><br/>Here's me trying to explain one of the stories to my wife:  &quot;You see there's this convenience store next to a place called the Ausible Chasm, where zombies live.  The zombies come into the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27296343">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27296343]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27296343]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>8830510</id>
    <user>
    <id>229665</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kathryn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/229665-kathryn]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201277880p3/229665.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <isbn>0156031876</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780156031875</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">212</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170652861m/66657.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170652861s/66657.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66657.Magic_for_Beginners</link>
  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[People who think any book is enhanced by zombie and Lovecraft references (and really, don't we all?)]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 08 07:01:39 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 25 06:59:51 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Some of the stories were pretty amazing--the kind you finish and immediately want to start again to see what you might have missed. I like the air of mystery and missing-ness, the way she fills the pages but leaves spaces inbetween for the imagination. I'd read some of these in anthologies. There we...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8830510">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8830510]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8830510]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44114709</id>
    <user>
    <id>537324</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nicole]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/537324-nicole]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260842462p3/537324.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <isbn>0156031876</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780156031875</isbn13>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170652861m/66657.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170652861s/66657.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66657.Magic_for_Beginners</link>
  <average_rating>4.06</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1218</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="do-you-believe-in-magic" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 23 17:22:00 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 23 17:38:33 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The stories in this book ooze creativity and imagination, which I'm generally a sucker for. There's a risk, though, in straying too far from traditional lines, in that the stories still have to connect for the reader on some level strongly enough for us to be willing to let go of the fact that we're...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44114709">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44114709]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44114709]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>70403190</id>
    <user>
    <id>979834</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Phoebe]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Gainesville, FL]]></location>
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  <isbn>0156031876</isbn>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
  </title>
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    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[I usually enjoy being unsettled by writers; when reading a skin-crawlingly creepy Stephen King novel, or spooky and sexual and gross alien sex story by Octavia Butler, I enjoy the little shivers that run up-and-down my arms. Unfortunately, though I was frequently unsettled by the stories in Kelly Li...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70403190">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This review appeared in The Peterborough Examiner and was reprinted in The New York Review of Science Fiction.<br/><br/>MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS<br/>by Kelly Link<br/>Small Beer Press<br/>$30.00 Hardcover<br/>273 pages<br/>ISBN: 1-931520-15-1<br/><br/>Review by Ursula Pflug<br/><br/>800 WORDS...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56432954">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Magic for Beginners]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[It's somewhat unfair to put this as read, since I haven't read all the stories in it. But I'd read enough to know that it wasn't really my cup of tea. That's entirely a subjective reaction and could be as much due to what my expectations were. It's like putting an olive in your mouth thinking that i...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55338904">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
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  <read_at>Tue Jan 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 01 18:10:03 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 07 08:09:19 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really wanted to like this book. I first heard about it on Novelist maybe a year ago, made a note of it, and just recently found it at Bookman’s. It seemed like just the kind of book I would like – I often read novels and short stories like these, and I love magic realism - and so it moved to ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41543178">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<em>Magic for Beginners</em> is Kelly Link's eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed follow-up to her beloved debut, <em>Stranger Things Happen</em>. &#8220;Cumulatively weirder and wiser&#8221; (<em>The Believer</em>), this new story collection riffs on zombies, marriage, witches, superheroes, haunted convenience stores, and weekly apocalyptic poker parties, among other things.  <br/><br/>Link's work is truly unique. <em>Time Out New York</em> called her stories &#8220;cross-genre gems,&#8221; and her admirers in the literary community&#8212;from Peter Straub and Karen Joy Fowler to Alice Sebold and Michael Chabon&#8212;reflect the amazing range that makes her style so special. Call it kitchen sink magical realism: Fantastic and bizarre but funny and down to earth, there is something for everyone in <em>Magic for Beginners</em>.]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 16 02:55:06 -0800 2008</date_added>
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    <body><![CDATA[Can't concentrate lately? Me neither. I've been on a short story kick for the past month, and this book catered to my cravings pretty perfectly: it's literary fantasy with a focus on magical realism. Even gothic at times, due to the uncanny factor and the odd shiver up the spine that some of the sto...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37849699">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Highly original.&quot;-<em>Publishers Weekly</em> (starred review)</p> 		<p>&quot;Dazzling.&quot;-<em>Entertainment Weekly</em> (grade: A, Editor's Choice) </p> 		<p>&quot;Darkly playful.&quot;-Michael Chabon </p> 		<p>Kelly Link's engaging and funny stories riff on haunted convenience stores, husbands and wives, rabbits, zombies, weekly apocalyptic poker parties, witches, and cannons. Includes Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winners. A Best of the Year pick from <em>TIME,</em> Salon.com, and Book Sense. Illustrated by Shelley Jackson.</p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[<p>The stories-within-stories feel of <em>Magic for Beginners</em>, not to mention its absurdist magical realism, left some critics feeling alienated. Nor could many place Link (<em>Stranger Things Happen</em>) in a precise literary niche. Yet all agree that Link's imagination is a plausible, even powerful, force. Even ...</p><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45460568">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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