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Cristina’s Year In Books

Cristina’s 2025 Year in Books

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

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Cristina J. Baptista’s Followers (21)

Cristina’s Bookshelves

to-read (1425)
currently-reading (1)
read (939)
american-crime-stories (17)
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contemporary-literature (8)
doctoral_comp-exam_texts (73)
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Cristina’s Friends (119)

Britt Petrosik

169 books | 73 friends

Caroline Hagood

101 books | 199 friends

Peycho Kanev

2,477 books | 3,414 friends

Emily

1,674 books | 81 friends

Ali

646 books | 98 friends

Patty

500 books | 50 friends

Cara

295 books | 72 friends

Rina

247 books | 38 friends

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Cristina J. Baptista

Goodreads Author

Born

June 26

Website

https://www.cristinajbaptista.com/

Twitter

Herds_of_Words

Genre

Classics, Poetry, Fiction

Member Since

July 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/crisjean

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Cristina J. Baptista In a world that too often makes us feel uneasy, lacking control, and even sometimes paranoid, being a writer makes everyone his or her own little god.…moreIn a world that too often makes us feel uneasy, lacking control, and even sometimes paranoid, being a writer makes everyone his or her own little god. We have power, control, and true vision in our own world. Enjoy the structure in our miniature lives on the page—for the larger world beyond our work is far from neat and tidy like the realm that fits conveniently between two covers of a notebook or published tome. Also great about being a writer is getting to connect with other writers and readers: you realize that while writing can be such a solitary act in the process of creating, in truth, it is a portal into a larger, more expansive realm of creators than you could hope. I once had a college professor who claimed, “no one likes to write. Everyone likes to have written.” I can understand what she means, but I do take pleasure in the personal time I give myself to write. What I love, being more of an introvert than anything else, is that writing gives me a legitimate reason to be alone. Do I sound like I use “I’m writing” as an excuse? So be it. But, again, and as aforementioned, also excellent about being a writer is knowing that, when I’m ready to return to reality, I have sundry likeminded artists out there willing to inspire, encourage, and critique my work—or to have me do the same. So, being a writer is about bonding with the self and society alike. It’s a therapy you give yourself; it’s a gift you can only hope to give other people who care one day.(less)

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Cristina J. Baptista Read, read, read. You will never write well if you are not a voracious reader. Record your favorite lines. Study not just plot-summary but, also, char…moreRead, read, read. You will never write well if you are not a voracious reader. Record your favorite lines. Study not just plot-summary but, also, character development, structure, and language choices. Consider style and voice. And then, once you’ve filled yourself with options, write often and as much as you can in one sitting. Let things gel; give yourself time off. I find that most of the “best writing” happens in the in-between spaces when I’m not sitting at my desk. I write in the shower, on the train, in bed—I sometimes jot down notes once I get to a notebook; or a talk to myself via voice memos on my phone. But just do it—write. Don’t apologize for or explain what you do, either: there is no justification for writing anything aside from the truth that the story is in you and you’re simply giving it a new life in written form.(less)

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Cristina J. Baptista’s books

Average rating: 5.0 · 2 ratings · 1 review · 3 distinct works

	The Drowning Book 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
	Taking Her Back 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
	The Drowning Book by Cristina J. Baptista by Cristina J. Baptista (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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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Cristina is Currently Reading

Cristina is currently reading

The Cartographer of Absences: A Novel

by Mia Couto

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jan 11, 2026 08:37AM

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Cristina’s Recent Updates

Cristina entered a giveaway The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman	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 03, 2026 03:16PM · like · see giveaway
Cristina entered a giveaway The Navigator's Letter: The True Story of Two WWII Airmen, a Doomed Mission, and the Woman Who Bound Them Together by Jan Cress Dondi	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 03, 2026 03:15PM · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Navigator's Letter by Jan Cress Dondi. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Navigator's Letter by Jan Cress Dondi <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cristina is on page 107 of 320 of The Cartographer of Absences The Cartographer of Absences: A Novel by Mia Couto progress:	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 19, 2026 11:49PM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Cartographer of Absences by Mia Couto. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Cartographer of Absences by Mia Couto <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Cristina liked Katelyn’s status update Katelyn Tucker wants to read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
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Cristina is now following Patrick deWitt Author of The Sisters Brothers
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Cristina is now following Morgan Pager Author of The Art of Vanishing
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Cristina’s Quotes

“Though she be but little, she is fierce!”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

tags: ferocity

3906 likes

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
― Marilyn Monroe

tags: attributed-no-source, best, life, love, misattributed-marilyn-monroe, mistakes, out-of-control, truth, worst

165294 likes

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

tags: attributed-no-source, human-nature, humor, infinity, philosophy, science, stupidity, universe

148478 likes

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

tags: attributed-no-source, books, simile, soul

135595 likes

“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow
Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead
Walk beside me… just be my friend”
― Albert Camus

tags: attributed-no-source, friends, friendship, misattributed-albert-camus

93574 likes

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Cristina’s Groups

Goodreads Librarians Group — 312140 members — last activity 2 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more

ModCloth's Shelf Life — 911 members — last activity Jun 14, 2016 12:49PM
ModCloth is always on the lookout for new and exciting books but we love reliving the classics, too. Everyone is welcome to share with us their thou ...more

GoodReviews: The Official Book Review Contest — 250 members — last activity Sep 10, 2012 05:45AM
Help us find the best reviews on Goodreads! Nominate reviews here for our monthly review-writing contest! Winners will be announced each month in our ...more

WORD Book Club — 149 members — last activity Oct 01, 2012 04:07PM
For book lovers who participate in WORD's monthly book club, at our store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. ...more

¡ POETRY ! — 22560 members — last activity 19 hours, 25 min ago
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more

Literary Disco — 1329 members — last activity Jan 28, 2025 03:45PM
A podcast all about books. Hosted by Tod Goldberg, Julia Pistell, and Rider Strong. Old books, new books, and book-related games. Occasionally, a gues ...more

U.I.T.B. — 245 members — last activity Mar 29, 2020 05:31AM
This group is dedicated to readers who want to read AMAZING literature from authors of color. We welcome you to to share your favorites or your curre ...more

Mark Twain House's Reading Challenge — 69 members — last activity Feb 04, 2024 02:42PM
The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT is challenging everyone this year to get hooked on a good book! Add the books that you’ve read this yea ...more

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