Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #26

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It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts from one of my current reads 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.
This week's selection:
 Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search (Movie Tie-in)  

BeginningPrologue
The New Year of 2004 had come in.  It was getting late and I was thinking of leaving -- the party was flat and I was tired -- but someone tapped my shoulder.  The stranger was about forty-five and a little tipsy.  She told me she was married to the brother of a mutual friend, but she wasn't planning to remain so much longer.  I smiled politely.  She put her hand on my arm and said she had something that might interest me.

"You're a journalist, aren't you?"
"I used to be."
"You can find things out, can't you?"
"It depends what they are."
"You have to meet my friend.  She has a puzzle she needs you to solve."
 
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Page 56:  "Marjorie Hess was worried about flying and she was worried about arriving.  She was missing Doc and the boys, and she was anxious about the task that lay in wait at her destination."
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From barnesandnoble.com:  Now a major motion picture starring Judi Dench: the heartbreaking true story of an Irishwoman and the secret she kept for 50 years.

When she became pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena Lee was sent to a convent to be looked after as a “fallen woman.” Then the nuns took her baby from her and sold him, like thousands of others, to America for adoption. Fifty years later, Philomena decided to find him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Philomena’s son was trying to find her. Renamed Michael Hess, he had become a leading lawyer in the first Bush administration, and he struggled to hide secrets that would jeopardize his career in the Republican Party and endanger his quest to find his mother.

A gripping exposé told with novelistic intrigue, Philomena pulls back the curtain on the role of the Catholic Church in forced adoptions and on the love between a mother and son who endured a lifelong separation.


Enjoy life with books . . .
 
Catherine
 
Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #26 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.   

2 comments:

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  2. Hey there, Book Club Librarian! It's great to stumble upon your blog and dive into your article on "Friday Focus: Friday 56 & Book Beginnings." I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your insights and recommendations. The way you combine the Book Beginnings and Friday 56 prompts to give us a taste of the book's opening and a sneak peek into the middle is such a clever idea. It's like getting the best of both worlds in one post!

    I particularly appreciate how you bring the excerpts to life with your vivid descriptions and analysis. It's evident that you have a genuine passion for literature, and your enthusiasm shines through your words. Your blog not only offers an enticing glimpse into various books but also serves as a fantastic resource for book lovers like me who are constantly on the lookout for exciting reads. The way you blend your personal thoughts and impressions with the book excerpts creates an engaging and relatable reading experience. Audio Visual Equipment

    Thank you for sharing your love of books and your valuable recommendations. Your blog has definitely sparked my interest, and I'll be sure to visit it more often for inspiration and new reading ideas. Keep up the fantastic work, and I look forward to exploring more of your literary adventures in the future! Cheers to a fellow book enthusiast!

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