Thursday, October 27, 2022

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

16

 
It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts 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 Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover edition borrowed from the library.

 

 


Beginning:  The letter arrives on a Friday. Slit and resealed with a sticker, of course, as all their letters are: Inspected for your safety--PACT. It had caused confusion at the post office, the clerk unfolding the paper inside, studying it, passing it up to his supervisor, then the boss. But eventually it had been deemed harmless and sent on its way. No return address, only a New York, NY postmark, six days old. On the outside, his name--Bird--and because of this he knows it is from his mother.

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Page 56:  Here, she says. Let's take a look. The book I'm thinking of is quite old.

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My thoughts:  Having read--and loved--this author's two previous books, I am eager to start her latest novel. I'm looking forward to getting to know the characters and immersing myself in the story.

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From GoodReads: From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes one of the most highly anticipated books of the year – the inspiring new novel about a mother’s unbreakable love in a world consumed by fear.

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.

Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.

 

Monday, October 24, 2022

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

 It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 



. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Heights by Louise Candlish. The excerpt shared is from a trade paperback borrowed from the librry.



First Chapter:  

 First Chapter:  Killing Time

Opening lines are hard to write, says Felix Penney, and he of all people should know. The author of three writing manuals and nine crime novels, he is one of the most high-profile creative writing tutors in the UK, with a prestigious class at King's College London. 


What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

The opening lines are interesting, but what really makes we want to read this book is the Goodreads description: 

"The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among warehouses in London. Its roof terrace is so discreet, you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren’t standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there—a man you’d recognize anywhere. He may be older now, but it’s definitely him.

But that can’t be because he’s been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact.

Because you’re the one who killed him."





 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.

Monday, October 17, 2022

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

 It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 



. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick. The excerpt shared is from a trade paperback version borrowed from the library.




First Chapter:  The Apartment in the Clouds

Liv Green wore her polishing cloth draped over her arm in the same proud way a maitre d' might wear a napkin. She'd already cleaned Essie Starling's two bathrooms, each bigger than her own bedroom, polished the white marble kitchen worktops and left uniform vacuum cleaner tracks on the dove gray carpets, just how the bestselling author liked them. She wore one earbud while she worked, listening to the audiobook of Essie's nineteenth novel for the second time and leaving her other ear free in case the author called out any commands.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I am eager to read this book because I found one of the author's previous novels, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper so endearing. And even if that wasn't the case, I couldn't resist the cover and title of Ms. Patrick's current novel.





 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

16

 
It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts 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 The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman. The excerpts shared are from a trade paperback edition borrowed from the library.

 

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

 

Beginning:  Staten Island bus station

December 1971

People still search the woods for the remains of lost children.

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Page 56:  A searing pain tore at the top of Sage's feet, dragging along her flesh like hot knives and slowly bringing her out of her drug-induced stupor. After several tries, she opened her heavy eyelids, looked around, and tried to understand what was happening.

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My thoughts:  The plot is quite realistic and the setting has an ominous sense of danger and mystery. Given its history, one can easily imagine sinister happenings at the former Willowbrook State School. 

Closed after an expose by reporter Geraldo Rivera, the real-life Willowbrook State School was the site of neglect and abuse on a major scale. The property is now the home of The College of Staten Island, a senior college within the City University of New York system. Several of the old buildings still remain on the campus. They are unoccupied, but there are some who believe they are haunted by the ghosts of former inhabitants.

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From GoodReads:  Fact, fiction, and urban legend blend in this haunting story about a young woman mistakenly imprisoned at Willowbrook State School, the real-life institution later shuttered for its horrendous abuses.

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined . . .




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.

 

Monday, October 10, 2022

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

 It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 



. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.
 

Today I'm featuring my current read, A Study in Murder by Callie Hutton. It's the first book in the Victorian Book Club Mystery series. The excerpt shared is from an eBook version borrowed from the library.


First Chapter:  Bath, England

April 1890

Lady Amy Lovell, only daughter of the Marquess of Winchester, hurried up the steps of St. Swithin's, the old and stately church on the Paragon in the Walcot area of Bath, barely on time for the Sunday service. As usual, she arrived ten minutes past her aunt Margaret, who had never in all her life been late for a church service. Or anything else.

Her aunt shifted over in the family pew as Amy slid in alongside her She offered her a hymnal, a Bible, and a slight roll of her warm brown eyes.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

The opening paragraphs convey the family status of privilege, and hint at the protagonist's character traits. Make no mistake, Lady Amy Lovell is no wallflower. She is a spirited young woman fighting against the constraints of a woman's place in society and a murder mystery novelist who writes under a pen name to appease her father's sensibilities. When her ex-fiance is found stabbed to death in the library of her family's estate, Lady Amy is the main suspect and is thrust into an all too real murder investigation unlike the ones she creates in her novels.



 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

16

 
It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts 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, Murder in the Park, the first book in the Oak Park Village mystery series by Jeanne M. Dams. The book first came to my attention at this year's Malice Domestic Conference in Bethesda, Maryland. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover edition borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning:  Oak Park, Illinois. June, 1925

It was Ginger who started it.

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Page 56:  "It can hurt. A lot. And -- it can be dangerous."

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My thoughts:  Wealthy, privileged Elizabeth Fairchild must find a way out of the crippling grief that has kept her close to home and make a new life for herself. When a local antiques dealer is murdered, she feels compelled to find the killer and clear the name of the music teacher wrongly accused of the crime. But her efforts put Elizabeth in the cross hairs of the Chicago mob and hate groups intolerant of immigrants, other religions, and racial minorities. Fearless sometimes to the point of being foolhardy, Elizabeth navigates threats to her safety in search of a murderer as well as the vulnerability of opening herself up to new personal relationships.

A strong independent streak, sense of fairness, and pursuit of justice, make the protagonist of this series a breath of fresh air. As a modern woman, Elizabeth rejects the constraints of her mother's beliefs to embrace equality, taking a stand for what is right and advocating for those less fortunate. She is the type of character one roots for as she finds her footing, with anticipation of what is to come in subsequent installments.Grace Hemingway--Ernest's mother--plays an active role in the plot as a neighbor, and it will be interesting to see if Mrs. Hemingway continues in the story line going forward. Yet another reason to await book two in the series.

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From GoodReads: Introducing spirited female sleuth Elizabeth Fairchild in the first of the brilliant new Oak Park village mystery series, set in 1920s Illinois.

June, 1925. Having been widowed in the First World War, Elizabeth Fairchild lives a quiet life at the home of her wealthy parents in genteel Oak Park village, Illinois. Although she does her best to avoid emotional entanglements, determined never to be hurt again, Elizabeth forms a close friendship with gentle Mr Anthony, who owns the local antiques store.

But tragedy strikes when Mr Anthony is found stabbed to death in the alley behind his shop. Why would anyone murder a mild-mannered antiques dealer who simply loved beautiful things? A robbery gone wrong? A gangland execution? Or could it have something to do with the mysterious customer who bought a gold pocket watch from Mr Anthony on the day he died?

When one of her father's oldest friends is accused of the crime, Elizabeth determines to expose the real killer. But her investigations soon attract unwelcome attention. With gangsters moving into the neighbourhood from nearby Chicago, Oak Park is no longer the safe haven it once was. Could Elizabeth be seriously out of her depth?




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com. It cannot be republished without attribution.

 

Monday, October 3, 2022

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 



. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline. The excerpt shared is from an eARC from the publisher.


First Chapter:  I glanced in my rearview mirror at the pickup truck, which was riding my bumper. I hated tailgaters, especially with my family in the car, but nothing could ruin my good mood. My daughter's field hockey team had just beat Radnor, and Allison had scored  a goal. She was texting in the back seat, one of  a generation that makes better use of opposable thumbs than any prior.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I agree with the narrator--I hate tailgaters too. They create dangerous and uncomfortable situations. I'm eager to read this book for two reasons: (1) I love the author and (2) my book club selected it as our November read.




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.