624 ratings | 71 reviews | avg rating:3.89

Pauline’s Year In Books

Pauline’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Pauline’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Pauline J. Alama’s Followers (27)

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Pauline’s Friends (79)

Eleanor

4,490 books | 66 friends

Clare Deming

1,553 books | 100 friends

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13 books | 227 friends

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5,547 books | 164 friends

Michael Ventrella

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559 books | 15 friends

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520 books | 102 friends

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Pauline J. Alama

Goodreads Author

Website

https://sites.google.com/site/paulinejalama/home

Genre

Fantasy, Science Fiction

Influences

Lloyd Alexander, Patricia A. McKillip, Alexander Key, Chretien De Troy ...more

Member Since

September 2011

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My quest fantasy The Eye of Night was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award. I've published numerous short stories in anthologies such as Sword & Sorceress 30, It's Come to Our Attention, Witch High, Trafficking in Magic: Magicking in Traffic and magazines such as www.abyssapexzine.com and Fantasy Scroll.

For a wild, misguided time in my life, I thought I would be an English professor, so I spent some time in Rochester, New York learning medieval literature and how to get around in heaps of snow. After getting a Ph.D. without a J.O.B., I returned to my native New Jersey, where I write grant proposals for nonprofit agencies and obey the whims of my feline overlords.

Other interests include playing guitar and saving the world. Not doing ...more

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Combine Editions
Pauline J. Alama’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 1,437 ratings · 106 reviews · 17 distinct works

	Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress XXIII by Elisabeth Waters (Editor / Contributor), Dave Smeds (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Marian Allen (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.23 avg rating — 397 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sword And Sorceress XVIII by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Editor / Contributor), Elisabeth Waters (Contributor), Diana L. Paxson (Contributor) 4.07 avg rating — 356 ratings — published 2001	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sword and Sorceress XIX by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Editor), Elisabeth Waters, Laura J. Underwood (Goodreads Author) 4.07 avg rating — 340 ratings — published 2002 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Eye of Night: A Novel 3.85 avg rating — 157 ratings — published 2002 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sword and Sorceress 25 by Elisabeth Waters (Editor/Contributor), Dave Smeds (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Jonathan Shipley (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.28 avg rating — 140 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Witch High by Denise Little (Editor), Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Bill McCay (Contributor) 3.66 avg rating — 138 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress Xxvi by Elisabeth Waters, Pauline J. Alama (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), David L. Burkhead (Contributor) 4.23 avg rating — 101 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sword and Sorceress XXVII by Elisabeth Waters (Editor), Pauline J. Alama (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Michael H. Payne (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.26 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sword and Sorceress 30 by Elisabeth Waters (Editor), Pauline J. Alama (Goodreads Author), G. Scott Huggins (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.18 avg rating — 77 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sword & Sorceress 31 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Pauline’s Recent Updates

Pauline wants to read David Balfour (David Balfour, #2) by Robert Louis Stevenson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 05, 2026 04:12PM · like
Pauline and 12 other people liked Sherwood Smith's review of Canticle: "Aleys is a young visionary who chooses the church rather than be forced into marriage. We're warned at the outset that she is not going to end well in the physical world, alas. The story is how she got to her martyrdom. It's set in 13th-century Bruges" Read more of this review »
Feb 22, 2026 05:30PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Pauline and 103 other people liked Paul Bryant's review of The Old Curiosity Shop: "AN EQUILIBRIUM OF DISGUST AND DELICIOUSNESS You have rarely read a novel in which the bad stuff is so so so bad and the good stuff so good and the crunching wrenching sounds of the gear changes between the good bits and the bad bits can be heard from " Read more of this review »
Feb 16, 2026 11:20AM · see review
Pauline rated a book liked it The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I decided to read The Old Curiosity Shop because I've loved some of Dickens' other works (especially Our Mutual Friend) and I'd heard this was his big blockbuster bestseller while he was alive, but I didn't think I knew anyone who'd actually read it. ...more
Feb 16, 2026 11:14AM · like · see review
Pauline wants to read Little Monsters by Máire Roche (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 14, 2026 02:35PM · like
Pauline rated a book did not like it Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe (Sal and Gabi, #2) by Carlos Hernandez	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 14, 2026 08:37AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Pauline rated a book it was ok Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It is a truth universally acknowledged--by which I mean "often stated by me"--that any romance story in which Mr. Right initially looks like Mr. Hell-No is to some extent a retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Jane Austen's unlikely couple have cast such ...more
Feb 07, 2026 03:18PM · like · see review
Pauline rated a book liked it The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I decided to read The Old Curiosity Shop because I've loved some of Dickens' other works (especially Our Mutual Friend) and I'd heard this was his big blockbuster bestseller while he was alive, but I didn't think I knew anyone who'd actually read it. ...more
Feb 07, 2026 01:57PM · like · see review
Pauline and 9 other people liked Harrison's review of Crux: "3.5⭐️ I mean it’s alright like… I’ll admit, I had pretty high hopes for this one, but I felt like this did not deliver what I thought it would give. Yes, it deals with friendship on the brink of big changes. Yes, there is some fantastic ameliorations o" Read more of this review »
Feb 01, 2026 01:44PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Crux by Gabriel Tallent. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Crux by Gabriel Tallent <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Pauline wants to read The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 29, 2026 05:15PM · like

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Pauline’s Quotes

“I am a total zombie just after I wake up. It takes me half an hour even to get my eyes open. Ask anyone who knows me. I can't see; I can't talk properly; I can't do anything without help. The only think I can do properly is think. And I know how to exploit my condition. I've had years of practice.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, The Merlin Conspiracy

tags: sleep

42 likes

“I wish to God,” said Gideon with mild exasperation, “that you’d talk—just once—in prose like other people.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, The Game of Kings

94 likes

“After all, history is a type of fantasy. For all the primary source research, in the end, the past world the historian builds is as weird and remote from our own as Middle Earth or Narnia, yet oddly familiar.”
― Ysabeau S. Wilce, Flora Fyrdraaca

tags: fantasy, history

18 likes

“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.”
― Stephen Colbert

tags: christ, christian, christian-behavior, poor, religion, selfish

1237 likes