Friday, October 31, 2014

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #59

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                            H-A-P-P-Y   H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N !!!!!!!!!!!

It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts from a current or upcoming read with:

  • Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
  • The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
Today I'm featuring my current read, a library book on which I've reached the maximum number of renewals:
 
Going Nowhere Fast

BeginningWe thought we had lost Bad Dog in Las Vegas.
 
He had followed us there from California, acting on a wild hunch, and come upon us as we were watching all the wrong numbers light up on the keno board at Bally's.
 
******************** 
Page 56:  "Your father and I are not completely convinced he had anything to do with that dead man."
*********************   
 
My thoughts:  This short novel is hilarious.  Recent retirees Joe and Dottie Loudermilk want nothing more than to spend their time traveling the country, free of interference from their five grown children.  In this case, their desire and their reality are diametrically opposed.
 
 
Which book are you reading now or about to start?
 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #59 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.    
 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: The Forgers

 
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring The Forgers by Bradford Morrow.


The Forgers  
Publisher:  Grove/Atlantic
Publication Date:  November 4, 2014

From barnesandnoble.comFrom critically acclaimed novelist Bradford Morrow, called “a mesmerizing storyteller who casts an irresistible spell” by Joyce Carol Oates and “one of America’s major literary voices” by Publishers Weekly, comes The Forgers, a richly told literary thriller about the dark side of the rare book world. 


The rare book world is stunned when a reclusive collector, Adam Diehl, is found on the floor of his Montauk home: hands severed, surrounded by valuable inscribed books and original manuscripts that have been vandalized beyond repair. Adam’s sister, Meghan, and her lover, Will—a convicted if unrepentant literary forger—struggle to come to terms with the seemingly incomprehensible murder. But when Will begins receiving threatening handwritten letters, seemingly penned by long-dead authors, but really from someone who knows secrets about Adam’s death and Will’s past, he understands his own life is also on the line—and attempts to forge a new beginning for himself and Meg. In The Forgers, Morrow reveals the passion that drives collectors to the razor-sharp edge of morality, brilliantly confronting the hubris and mortal danger of rewriting history with a fraudulent pen.



Which book are you waiting for?
...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?


Waiting on Wednesday: The Forgers was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.
 


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #80 and Teaser Tuesdays

   It's Tuesday . . . time to share book excerpts with:
         
  • First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.
  • Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, where bloggers post two (2) random “teaser” sentences--no spoilers allowed--to try to entice others to seek out these books.
Today I'm featuring the opening paragraphs and a teaser from my current read, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson.  The book has a very strange title, but it is a mysterious page turner.

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart 

 Prologue

It was dusk, but as he turned onto the rutted driveway he could make out the perimeter of yellow tape that still circled the property.

George parked his Saab, but left the engine running.  He tried not to think about the last time he'd been to this almost-hidden house on a dead-end road in New Essex.

# # # # # # # #

Chapter 1

At five minutes past five on a Friday night, George Foss walked directly from his office to Jack Crow's Tavern through the gluey air of a Boston heat wave.  He'd spent the final three hours of work meticulously proofreading a rewrite on an illustrator's contract, then staring numbly through his window at the hazy blue of the city sky.  He disliked late summer the way other Bostonians disliked the long New England winters.  The weary trees, the yellowing parks, and the long humid nights all made him long for the crisp weather of autumn, for breathable air that didn't make his skin stick to his clothes and his bones feel tired.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Teaser:  "He knew instinctively that turning around was the worst thing to do, but he turned anyway, looking in the general direction of her face, avoiding her eyes that shone wetly under the high sun.  Her eyebrows were raised a fraction, her mouth set in a worried half frown." ~ p. 34

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 


What are you reading now or planning to read soon?
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #80 and Teaser Tuesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.




Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: All Days Are Night

 
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring All Days Are Night by Peter Stamm, translated by Michael Hofmann:

All Days Are Night  
Publisher:  Other Press, LLC
Publication Date:  November 4, 2014

From barnesandnoble.com:  All Days Are Night is the story of Gillian, a successful and beautiful TV host, content with her marriage to Matthias, even if she feels restless at times. One night following an argument, the couple has a terrible car accident: Matthias, who is drunk, hits a deer on the wet road and dies in the crash. Gillian wakes up in the hospital completely disfigured. Only slowly, after many twists and turns, does she put her life back together, and reconnects with a love interest of the past who becomes a possible future—or so it seems.

In Stamm’s unadorned and haunting style, this new novel forcefully tells the story of a woman who loses her life but must stay alive all the same. How she works everything out in the end is at once surprising and incredibly rewarding.
 
 
Which book are you waiting for?
. . . Will you add this to your list of must-reads?
 



Waiting on Wednesday: All Days Are Night was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #79 and Teaser Tuesdays

   It's Tuesday . . . time to share book excerpts with:
         
  • First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.
  • Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, where bloggers post two (2) random “teaser” sentences--no spoilers allowed--to try to entice others to seek out these books.
Today I'm featuring the opening paragraph and a teaser from my next book club read, Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.

Girl in Translation  

Prologue

I was born with a talent.  Not for dance, or comedy, or anything so delightful.  I've always had a knack for school.  Everything that was taught there, I could learn: quickly and without too much effort.  It was as if school were a vast machine and I a cog perfectly formed to fit in it.  This is not to say that my education was always easy for me.  When Ma and I moved to the U.S., I spoke only a few words of English, and for a very long time, I struggled.

# # # # # #

 One

A sheet of melting ice lay over the concrete.  I watched my rubber boots closely, the way the toes slid on the ice, the way the heels splintered it.  Ice was something I had known only in the form of small pieces in red bean drinks.  This ice was wild ice, ice that defied streets and buildings.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Teaser:  "Every single kid at my old school had been openly envious when they heard we were moving to the U.S.  It was difficult for anyone to escape from Hong Kong before its scheduled return from British to Communist Chinese rule in 1997." ~ p. 12


What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 


What are you reading now or planning to read soon?
 
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #79 and Teaser Tuesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.


 

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Weekly Book Recap #86

The past week--make that the month so far--has gone by at lightning speed.  The weather has stayed most sunny and warm, but the forecast is for more seasonable (cooler) days ahead, with warnings of overnight frost north and west of the city.  I've avoided sweaters and jackets thus far, but I know it's just a matter of time before I have to switch over my wardrobe and break out the jackets and boots. 

I'm not a fan of extreme temperatures, and I'm bracing myself for another winter.  Each year I dread the season a little bit more, hoping for fewer snow storms and an early spring.  Thank goodness for great books, which take my mind off the weather.

On to the weekly recap . . . .

The past week's posts;
Wednesday:  Waiting on Wednesday
Friday:  The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

Now for the rest of my week in books, which is being shared on these blogs:
  Showcase Sunday banner2a


 Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  
Showcase Sunday hosted by Vicky at  Books, Biscuits, and Tea
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey 
Finished reading . . .
I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks  


by Gina Sheridan  

A quick-reading, realistic collection of vignettes that describe the day-to-day occurrences at a typical public library. Some entries will make you laugh or smile; others will make you cringe. This book will give you a new appreciation for librarians and library staff. 



Currently reading . . .
               Night Road Just Between Us Unbecoming: A Novel  
Night Road by Kristin Hannah, Just Between Us by Mario Lopez, and Unbecoming by Rebecca Sherm

Borrowed from the library . . .
 Ankle Deep   Ankle Deep by Angela Thirkell

Downloaded . . .
               The Witness for the Defense  How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents  Falling: A 7-Novel New Adult Anthology
The Witness for the Defense by A.E.W. Mason, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez, and Falling: A 7-Novel New Adult Anthology by Chantal Fernando, Lex Martin, Jules Barnard, Jane Harvey-Berrick, Whitney Barbetti, Jade Eby, and Sarina Bowen

Reading next . . .
Girl in Translation   Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok


What did you read this week?  
. . . What did you add to your shelves or wish list?  
. . . . . . What are you reading next?

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Weekly Book Recap #86 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.



Friday, October 17, 2014

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #58

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It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts from a current or upcoming read with:
  • Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
  • The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, which I picked up at my local branch of the public library last week:

Desire Lines  

Beginning: Prologue
The night Jennifer disappeared, fireworks lit up the sky above Bangor, Maine, for nearly an hour.  Down in the harbor, graduating seniors on a boat anchored to its moorings danced to a rock band until the steely light of dawn washed over the Penobscot.

Part One -- Homecoming
Sitting in a window seat near the front of the tiny plane, staring out at the evergreen expanse below, Kathryn twists the gold ring on her finger.  She eases the ring off, feeling the cool weight of it in her hand, and then slips it back on.  She holds her fingers out to look at it.  Turning her wrist, she glances at her watch.  Then she leans back and closes her eyes.  The plane will be landing in fifteen minutes.  In half an hour she'll be home.

******************** 
Page 56:  "She didn't want to be bitter, but she also didn't want to pretend that everything was all right.  It was safer to keep her distance."
*********************   
 
My thoughts:  This author's novel, Orphan Train, was one of the best books I read last year.  This is one of the reasons I am looking forward to staring this one.


Which book are you reading now or about to start?
 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #58 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.    

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: Descent

 
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring the new thriller coming early next year from Tim Johnston. 

Descent: A Novel   
Publisher:  Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication Date:  January 6, 2015

From barnesandnoble.comThe stunning vistas of the Rocky Mountains reveal a dark and deadly side in this brilliantly conceived thriller about family ties and the fight for survival.

Descent, the story of a family undone by the disappearance of a daughter who went out for a morning run and didn’t come back, is stunning in its emotional impact--a compulsively readable page-turner with a strong literary sensibility.

The girl’s vanishing--on a sunny, late-summer vacation morning--all the more devastating for its mystery, is the beginning of the family’s harrowing journey down increasingly divergent and solitary paths, until all that continues to bind them to each other are the questions they can never bring themselves to ask: At what point does a family stop searching? At what point does a girl stop fighting for her life?

Johnston captures every emotion, every terrifying thought, every moment of loneliness, from the perspectives of everyone in the family—as each in his or her own way assumes responsibility for their collective loss. And in the father we see the last flicker of hope as he pursues every angle and refuses to give up in his belief that his daughter is still alive. Ultimately he finds an answer, in a climax that is stunning in both its execution and its resolution.

This combination of a great story and beautiful writing brings to mind the works of Tim Gautreaux, Dennis Lehane, and Russell Banks.
 
Which book are you waiting for?
. . . Will you add this to your list of must-reads? 


Waiting on Wednesday: Descent was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Weekly Book Recap #85 -- Blogoversary Edition


October is in full swing, with the leaves beginning to change color and falling from the trees.  Everywhere you look, there are pumpkins and Halloween decorations.  But if you visit a Hallmark card store, it's all about Christmas already.  The ornaments, cards, and decorations are front and center, which made it hard for me to find the Halloween stickers I was looking for today.  I did eventually manage to find them, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were on sale for half the usual price.

Today is the second anniversary of this blog!  While I've published fewer posts this year (186) than in the first year (317), I still feel a significant sense of accomplishment. I attribute this to developing stronger bonds within the blogger community.  So many of you have become special friends, whose posts and comments I eagerly await and enjoy.  Thanks for your generosity, thoughts, encouragement, and camaraderie.  For me, interacting with all of you about books and life events is the best part of the blogging experience. 
  

On to the weekly recap . . . .

The past week's posts:
Tuesday:  First Chapter/First Paragraph & Teaser
Wednesday:  Waiting on Wednesday

Now for the rest of my week in books, which is being shared on these blogs:
  Showcase Sunday banner2a

 Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  
Showcase Sunday hosted by Vicky at  Books, Biscuits, and Tea
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey 

Finished reading . . .
 I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You 



I didn't have as much fun as I thought I would reading this novel.  I wanted to like it--I really did--and I enjoyed the Paris setting.  But I didn't like the characters very much in this character-driven story.  The book club meeting to discuss it (last Friday night) was postponed, so I don't know yet if it was only me who felt this way.


  


Currently reading . . .
           Night Road      The Bostonians      I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks  
Night Road by Kristin Hannah, The Bostonians by Henry James, and I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan

Borrowed from the library . . .
                                Just Between Us  Big Little Lies 
                               Desire Lines: A Novel  Reunion: A Novel 
Just Between Us by Mario Lopez, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, Desire Lines by Christina Baker Kline, and Reunion by Hannah Pittard

Downloaded . . .
 One of Ours   One of Ours by Willa Cather 

Reading next . . .
 Unbecoming: A Novel   Unbecoming by Rebecca Sherm




What did you read this week?  
. . . What did you add to your shelves or wish list?  
. . . . . . What are you reading next?

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Weekly Book Recap #85 -- Blogoversary Edition was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.









   

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: Fiercombe Manor


 
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring the new novel from Kate Riordan, author of Birdcage Walk, and other novels. 
 
Fiercombe Manor  
Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date:  February 17, 2015
 
From goodreads.comIn this haunting and richly imagined dual-narrative tale that echoes the eerie mystery of Rebecca and The Little Stranger, two women of very different eras are united by the secrets hidden within the walls of an English manor house.

In 1933, naive twenty-two year-old Alice—pregnant and unmarried—is in disgrace. Her mother banishes her from London to secluded Fiercombe Manor in rural Gloucestershire, where she can hide under the watchful eye of her mother’s old friend, the housekeeper Mrs. Jelphs. The manor’s owners, the Stantons, live abroad, and with her cover story of a recently-deceased husband Alice can have her baby there before giving it up for adoption and returning home. But as Alice endures the long, hot summer at Fiercombe awaiting the baby’s birth, she senses that something is amiss with the house and its absentee owners.

Thirty years earlier, pregnant Lady Elizabeth Stanton desperately hopes for the heir her husband desires. Tormented by the memory of what happened after the birth of her first child, a daughter, she grows increasingly terrified that history will repeat itself, with devastating consequences.

After meeting Tom, the young scion of the Stanton family, Alice becomes determined to uncover the clan’s tragic past and exorcise the ghosts of this idyllic, isolated house. But nothing can prepare Alice for what she uncovers. Soon it is her turn to fear: can she escape the tragic fate of the other women who have lived in the Fiercombe valley . . .

Which book are you waiting for?
. . . Will you add this to your list of must-reads?
 
 
Waiting on Wednesday: Fiercombe Manor was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.
 
 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #78 and Teaser Tuesdays

          
It's Tuesday . . . time to share book excerpts with: 
  • First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.
  • Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, where bloggers post two (2) random “teaser” sentences--no spoilers allowed--to try to entice others to seek out these books.
Today I'm featuring the opening paragraph and a teaser from my next read, The Bostonians by Henry James. I'm reading this classic literary work for a very special group that I joined last year.  The Alumni Association of Hunter College Book Club has been meeting for 14 years, and last year my schedule finally coincided with theirs.  I earned my undergraduate degree from Hunter College/CUNY, have served on the Alumni Association Board in the recent past, and enjoy being involved in the many activities the Alumni Association sponsors.  The group meets at the college, so I'm lucky to revisit my alma mater on a regular basis.

The Bostonians  

Book First

I

"Olive will come down in about ten minutes; she told me to tell you that.  About ten; that is exactly like Olive.  Neither five nor fifteen, and yet not ten exactly, but either nine or eleven.  She didn't tell me to say she was glad to see you, because she doesn't know whether she is or not, and she wouldn't for the world expose herself to telling a fib.  She is very honest, is Olive Chancellor; she is full of rectitude.  Nobody tells fibs in Boston; I don't know what to make of them all.  Well, I am very glad to see you, at any rate."

---------------------------------------------------------------
Teaser:  "She had brought him into her life, and she should have to pay for it.  But she wished to know the worst at once." ~ p. 25

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

What are you reading now or planning to read soon?
 
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #78 and Teaser Tuesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.



Sunday, October 5, 2014

Weekly Book Recap #84


  

Yikes . . . last week brought us the end of September and the beginning of October.  With the recent change of seasons, I took on the task of organizing my unwieldy, ever expanding collection of books.  My main motivation is supporting two local annual charity book sales in the coming weeks.  I've donated several shopping bags to each organization already, and am hoping to round up a few more before the deadlines set in.  

In addition to weeding out the books I haven't given to friends or that I know I'll never read, I use the opportunity to re-prioritize my piles of next reads.  The fun part of all this is that I free up some space and always find several books that I forgot I had or that I saw recently on another blog and want to read.  I've also earmarked a few for friends and book club members with specific tastes.

In the week ahead, I'll be attending a book club meeting on October 10th and celebrating my second blogoversary on October 11th.

Here's a recap of the past week's posts:
Tuesday:  First Chapter/First Paragraph & Teaser
Wednesday:  Waiting on Wednesday
Friday:  Book Beginnings & The Friday 56

Now for the rest of my week in books, which is being shared on these blogs:
  Showcase Sunday banner2a


 Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  
Showcase Sunday hosted by Vicky at  Books, Biscuits, and Tea
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey 

Finished reading . . .
Murder at Mullings   

Murder at Mullings by Dorothy Cannell

A classic whodunit set at a stately English manor that evokes the best of Downton Abbey and Agatha Christie.  This is the first book in a new series, and introduces the sensible, stalwart Florence (Florie) Norris, Mullings's proper British housekeeper.  It's a thoroughly satisfying curl up and read tale with good character and plot developments. 






Currently reading . . . Night Road 


  Night Road by Kristin Hannah






I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You 







 I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You by Courtney Maum




Courtesy of Scribner . . .
 The Museum of Extraordinary Things: A Novel   The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman -- This paperback edition has a gorgeous, compelling cover!

Ebook downloads . . .
                                     North and South  Lovestruck in London
                                     Little Women   The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris 
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Gaughan


Reading next . . .


The Bostonians   The Bostonians by Henry James


What did you read this week?  
. . . What did you add to your shelves or wish list?  
. . . . . . What are you reading next?

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Weekly Book Recap #84 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.