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<book id="86698">
  <title><![CDATA[Old Friends]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[039571088X]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780395710883]]></isbn13>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171077379m/86698.jpg</image_url>
    <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">86698</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">5</books_count>
  <default_description>Now in paperback, the national bestseller on growing old. Tracy Kidder has won the Pulitzer Prize and countless other awards for his bestselling studies of ordinary life. Now he confronts his most important and universal theme in this personal study of old age in America.</default_description>
  <id type="integer">513651</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1993</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Old Friends</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:98|5:30|4:40|3:23|2:4|1:1|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">98</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">388</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">164</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.96]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[93]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[15]]></text_reviews_count>
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86698.Old_Friends]]></url>
  <authors>
        <author id="4770">
      <name><![CDATA[Tracy Kidder]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4770.Tracy_Kidder]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[4.16]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[10982]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[2127]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
      </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="164">
    <review id="54053686">
    <user id="49219">
    <name><![CDATA[Beth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Palmyra, NY]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/49219-beth]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 26 16:14:50 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Apr 26 16:21:14 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Well, I love Kidder's books.  He writes a documentary as enjoyable to me as fiction. (is that a weird statement or what--reminds me of when I wrote a short story for a newspaper contest, the editor called me because she liked my story and wanted me to write more, but wouldn't use it for the contest ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54053686">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54053686]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="57010735">
    <user id="369112">
    <name><![CDATA[Melody]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Gresham, OR]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/369112-melody]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 22 17:47:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 01 09:27:23 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was very difficult for me to get through, not because it was poorly written but quite the contrary. Kidder's lucent prose brings the sadness and loneliness of the nursing home to vivid life. It's possible that reading this soon after my own grandmother died, much diminished, was unwise. It...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57010735">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57010735]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="42194654">
    <user id="15631">
    <name><![CDATA[Mickey]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Philadelphia, PA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15631-mickey]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 07 00:58:41 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 07 01:00:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Documentary read of life at the end of the line, the culture and community of a particularly lively nursing home, and what it might feel like to be contemplating death.  (Contemp lit; 300+ pages)]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42194654]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="40634599">
    <user id="1783140">
    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1783140-katie]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1994</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 21 18:43:39 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 21 18:44:55 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This description of the lives of nursing home residents is supposed to be insightful into the lives of older people. I thought it was shallow and &quot;popcorn&quot;]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40634599]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="77878275">
    <user id="1499715">
    <name><![CDATA[Jan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kirkland, WA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1499715-jan]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Nov 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 15 14:07:56 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 15 14:09:20 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[wonderful insight into growing old in a nursing home.  great characters.  great writer.<br/>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77878275]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="10655334">
    <user id="326567">
    <name><![CDATA[Cory]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Elk Grove Village, IL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/326567-cory-fosco]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 18 18:01:22 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 18 18:03:53 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Kidder did not know what his story was going to be about when he decided to write about a MA based nursing home.  What he found was a strong and compelling relationship between two men.  This book's strength is Kidder's ability to write about people. There are many interconnecting stories being told...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10655334">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10655334]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="11901005">
    <user id="746973">
    <name><![CDATA[Susan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/746973-susan]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 07 13:26:21 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 07 13:26:37 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[In the 80's I read Tracy Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine. I remember being so rivited by it that I read it twice. The subject of his next books didn't interest me and I forgot about him. Recently I picked up this one - about the residents of a nursing home in New England. It was interesting to me...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11901005">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11901005]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="55095894">
    <user id="1562536">
    <name><![CDATA[Tory]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[North Branford, CT]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1562536-tory]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue May 05 20:04:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 09 04:12:11 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I like Tracy Kidder's works.  This was a tender story about two men rooming together at a nursing home in western Mass.  Sweet, poignant, and a little tough to read at times.  ]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55095894]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="8502692">
    <user id="226892">
    <name><![CDATA[Nicholas]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/226892-nicholas-braus]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 31 19:44:55 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 28 17:12:48 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[i enjoyed every minute of this book. Kidder is a master.<br/><br/>&quot;The central problem of life at Linda Manor is, after all, only the universal problem of separateness: the original punishment, the ultimate vulnerability, the enemy of meaning.&quot;]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8502692]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="3645369">
    <user id="63806">
    <name><![CDATA[Elizabeth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Charlotte, NC]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/63806-elizabeth]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jul 27 08:39:02 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 04 16:36:37 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was okay.  Wouldn't read it again, nor would I recommend it particularly, but it's a touching story of two elderly men and their friends at a retirement home.  Kidder writes beautifully, although the book moves slowly.  ]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3645369]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="14387820">
    <user id="852845">
    <name><![CDATA[Flan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Luis Obispo, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/852845-flan]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Feb 02 14:22:34 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 13 12:36:14 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is my favorite Kidder book. He spend a year in a nursing home. Some of the characters have lived with me ever since. The judge and his roommate and how their relationship develops is unforgettable.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14387820]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="37334498">
    <user id="1578804">
    <name><![CDATA[Kendall]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Moultonborough, NH]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1578804-kendall]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 10 10:40:47 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 10 10:40:47 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Great piece of non-fiction.  Moves along like a novel.  Kidder spent  a year at the nursing home observing the characters for the book.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37334498]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="26575144">
    <user id="1291774">
    <name><![CDATA[Joellen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1291774-joellen]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 07 15:52:33 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 07 15:53:31 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this a long time ago, I might have to re-read it now that Mom went to a senior citizen facility and see if my opinion changes.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26575144]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="12328969">
    <user id="741799">
    <name><![CDATA[Pattie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/741799-pattie]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="non-fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone with elderly parents]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 12 10:04:14 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 12 10:05:21 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A beautiful book about a horrible place - a nursing home - and a friendship that is made there. ]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12328969]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="36711882">
    <user id="1641357">
    <name><![CDATA[Ahf]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Rockville, MD]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1641357-ahf]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 1995</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Nov 01 17:43:21 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 01 17:43:21 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very sweet story of life and growth in a Nursing home.  I bought a mazusa in memory.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36711882]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="35214457">
    <user id="1617170">
    <name><![CDATA[Di]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1617170-di]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Oct 13 14:27:37 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Oct 13 14:27:37 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The human spirit is strong, but old folks homes blow.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35214457]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="80008518">
    <user id="3010037">
    <name><![CDATA[Betty]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3010037-betty-williamson]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Dec 05 15:59:43 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 05 15:59:45 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80008518]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="79292630">
    <user id="369504">
    <name><![CDATA[Sara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Boise, ID]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/369504-sara]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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        <shelf name="currently-reading" />
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        <shelf name="non-fiction" />
        <shelf name="owned" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 29 09:51:40 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 29 09:53:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79292630]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="79083671">
    <user id="2984266">
    <name><![CDATA[Kpladenheim]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2984266-kpladenheim]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 26 20:07:29 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 26 20:07:29 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79083671]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="77810609">
    <user id="2944756">
    <name><![CDATA[Mike]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Palm Harbor, FL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2944756-mike]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <date_added>Sat Nov 14 20:31:33 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 14 21:01:12 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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