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September Group Read Discussion: Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
By L Y N N · 9 posts · 42 views
By L Y N N · 9 posts · 42 views
last updated Sep 06, 2025 09:01PM
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A book recommended by someone you just met
By Juanita · 88 posts · 502 views
By Juanita · 88 posts · 502 views
last updated Nov 27, 2016 11:21AM
Post your 2017 "advanced" reading lists!
By Juanita · 474 posts · 2982 views
By Juanita · 474 posts · 2982 views
last updated Dec 30, 2017 08:24PM
What Members Thought
This is one of those books I thoroughly enjoyed for its atmosphere and the writing style of the author. It's not an exciting page-turner and the character development wasn't the most in-depth but I'm a reader who doesn't need those things when the author puts words together in ways that I think are lovely and that evoke a certain sense - in this case magic, mystery, wonder, and beauty.
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First of all the narrator they chose for the audiobook version was all wrong. Most of the characters were young but yet the narrator sounded like a 60 year old man. He didn't do female voices very well and listening to him try and talk like a 6 year old girl was almost laughable. Plus all his female characters sounded the same. I just did not like him at all.
Now for the story itself. It took a very long time to actually get interesting. First you had all these characters thrown at you all at on ...more
Now for the story itself. It took a very long time to actually get interesting. First you had all these characters thrown at you all at on ...more
I'll rate/review closer to next month's book club meeting. I was able to snag a copy earlier than expected, so I read this one early.
While I liked the writing and found the story had a certain fairy tale feel that I thought added to the overall mood of the book, I had a hard time connecting with it. I felt like the dueling magician premise was similar to a couple of movies from a few years ago and found myself making comparisons, even though I didn't feel like that was a fair thing to do. It did ...more
While I liked the writing and found the story had a certain fairy tale feel that I thought added to the overall mood of the book, I had a hard time connecting with it. I felt like the dueling magician premise was similar to a couple of movies from a few years ago and found myself making comparisons, even though I didn't feel like that was a fair thing to do. It did ...more
A book that carries so much buzz is hard to describe. You want to praise it's greatness or if you find it lacking all the hype it generated, then you want to say why. Like a good magic trick where some of the magic is lost everytime someone gives away its secrets so would this book be if it's secrets are revealed in a review. Instead I would just reveal how it made me feel. The setting of this circus was like a fairy tale or a good dream that you can escape into. It makes me feel like magic DOES
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Charming, beautiful, imaginative. Fascinating read; made me wish for a Circus of Dreams.
The narration by Jim Dale for the unabridged audio version was excellent. He managed to convey the mystery and fantasy of the tents beautifully.
The book has a wonderful premise--a fantastical circus that is magical or perhaps just superbly managed illusions that appears in seemingly random locations and is only open at night. Behind the scenes, a host of characters add layers of mystery. The descriptions of the different tents at the circus was clever and wondrous. Unfortunately, the author coul ...more
The book has a wonderful premise--a fantastical circus that is magical or perhaps just superbly managed illusions that appears in seemingly random locations and is only open at night. Behind the scenes, a host of characters add layers of mystery. The descriptions of the different tents at the circus was clever and wondrous. Unfortunately, the author coul ...more
Wow. That's a 5 star book! What an amazing imagination the author has!
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I absorbed this book in about three days of reading. It hooked me from the very first page, although I'm typically drawn to books set in the past and dealing with magic (See: Robertson Davies). Gorgeous language, lots of connections you don't see coming, and a very purposeful switch of narrators, including the rare second-person.
I'd recommend it to many. ...more
I'd recommend it to many. ...more
Jan 05, 2012
Terina
marked it as unfinished
I wanted so much to like this book. Maybe it was bad timing. It definitely cured my insomnia. Made it halfway through and had to return it to the library (and I'm a quick reader). Will try again another time. The atmosphere of the book was spooky and dreamy and beautiful. The plot of the book was fairly non-existent.
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This book was a unique story and very creative writing and characters, but there was something in it that did not add that extra "magic" to a really great book that deserves 4 or 5 stars.
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This book has great visual imagery but left me kind of confused. The plot is vague, and the romance is a little contrived. Hmmm...still wondering about this one.
Feb 24, 2014
Laura
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2019
Crystal
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
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Feb 25, 2017
Collin
marked it as to-read
Mar 07, 2018
Kelly
marked it as to-read
