Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

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 Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian.  The excerpts shared are from the hardcover version I borrowed from the library.

  

Beginning:   Part One
BRACE FOR IMPACT

She was aware first of the scent of the hotel shampoo, a Middle Eastern aroma reminiscent of anise, and then—when she opened her eyes—the way the light from the window was different from the light in the rooms in the hotel where the crew usually stayed. 

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Page 56:  "At some point, that was the loose end that Cassie feared was going to trip her."

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My thoughts:  The opening sentence suggests that flight attendant Cassie Bowden wakes to find herself in the wrong hotel, far from home.  That is the least of her worries, as she soon makes an even more startling discovery.

This is my current read, and I was drawn in immediately by the situation and the possibly unreliable narrator.

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From Goodreads:  Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She's a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, already counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police—she's a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home—Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it's too late to come clean—or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?

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This Friday Focus post was originally written and/or compiled and published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. 
Retweeting and sharing of this original work on Google+ and/or other blogs (with appropriate recognition) are appreciated.

 

Thursday Thoughts ~ Books from the Backlog

Happy Thursday . . .  aka, Happy Almost Friday!!

Today marks the first time I am participating in Books from the Backlog, hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books.  It's a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks . . . or on your eReader.

This week's neglected book is . . .

 

Release Date:  September 15, 2015

Publisher:  Riverhead Books

From Goodreads:  Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years.

At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed.

Why I selected it:  I remember all the buzz around this book when it was first published.  I think even President Obama weighed in, saying he had read and enjoyed it.  It's been languishing on one of my priority must-read bookshelves, and I do still intend to get to it, because it focuses on the story of a long-term marriage, a subject that always fascinates me.

 

This Thursday Thoughts ~ Books from the Backlog post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing of this original work on Google+ and/or other blogs (with appropriate recognition) are appreciated.

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings which spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading. Generally it's about books that haven't been released yet. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .

  

Publisher:  Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date:  July 1, 2018

From Goodreads:  A woman’s disappearance exposes a life of secrets in a twisting novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Memory Watcher.

Meredith Price is the luckiest woman alive. Her husband, Andrew, is a charming and successful financial broker. She has two lovely stepchildren and is living in affluence in a mountain resort town. After three years of marriage, Meredith’s life has become predictable. Until the day she disappears.

Her car has been discovered in a grocery store parking lot—purse and phone undisturbed on the passenger seat, keys in the ignition, no sign of struggle, and no evidence of foul play. It’s as if she vanished into thin air.

It’s not like Meredith to simply abandon her loved ones. And no one in this town would have reason to harm her. When her desperate sister, Greer, arrives, she must face a disturbing question: What if no one really knows Meredith at all? For Greer, finding her sister isn’t going to be easy…because where she’s looking is going to get very, very dark.

My thoughts:  I'm always ready for another tale of psychological suspense, and this one is from a new-to-me author.

 

This Can't-Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing of this original work on Google+ and/or other blogs (with appropriate recognition) are appreciated.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.  

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig.  The excerpt shared is from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

One

New York City

June 1944

Kate

The patter of rain against the blacked-out stained glass dome above where I sat numbed me like a hypnotist's gold watch.  Neither the hard marble step beneath me nor the delicately carved staircase spindle pressed against my forehead was enough to override the lullaby effect of the raindrops.  I tried to focus on the ornate staircase of the old mansion, to study the fine architectural details of the structure that even the conversion into a hospital couldn't mask.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

I find the descriptive quality of the first paragraph--the stained glass dome, marble step, and carved staircase--totally captivating.  I'm immediately swept back in time to Manhattan's Guilded Age.  I am eager to begin this multigenerational story set across several time periods, which is written by three wildly talented authors.

This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing of this original work on Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition are appreciated.

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

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 Suspect by Michael Robotham.  The excerpts shared are from the trade paperback version I borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning:  From the pitched slate roof of the Royal Marsden Hospital, if you look between the chimney pots and TV aerials, you see more chimney pots and TV aerials.  It's like that scene from Mary Poppins where all the chimneysweeps dance across the rooftops twirling their brooms.

From up here I can just see the dome of the Royal Albert Hall.  On a clear day I could probably see all the way to Hampstead Heath, although I doubt if the air in London ever gets that clear.

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Page 56:  "I'm not interested in the minutiae of how she died.  Instead I look for clues that relate to her life."

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My thoughts:  This book combines two of my favorite elements:  a favorite setting (in this case London) and the first installment in a new-to-me series.  I also like the author's observations about London.

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From barnesandnoble.com:  Renowned psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin has it all—a thriving practice, a devoted, beautiful, fiercely intelligent wife, and a lovely young daughter. But when he's diagnosed with Parkinson's, O'Loughlin begins to dread the way his exceptional mind has been shackled to a failing body, and the cracks in his perfect existence start to show.  

At first, O'Loughlin is delighted to be called in to a high-profile murder investigation, hoping his extraordinary abilities at perception will help bring a killer to justice. But when O'Loughlin recognizes the victim as one of his former patients, an emotionally disturbed young woman who nearly brought ruin upon him, O'Loughlin hesitates-a fateful decision that soon places O'Loughlin at the top of the lists of both a bullish detective, and a diabolical killer.

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This Friday Focus post was originally written and/or compiled and published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing of this original post on Google+ are appreciated.

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings which spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading. Generally it's about books that haven't been released yet. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .

  

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:  July 17, 2018

From Goodreads:  Sweetness can be deceptive.

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

My thoughts:  I'm fascinated by stories in which a child comes between parents.  This one sounds like it fits the bill in a very unique way, and Hanna sounds like a master manipulator.

This Can't-Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing this original post on Google+ are appreciated.

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.  

Today I'm featuring my current read, The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson.  The excerpt shared is from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

Thursday, May 10

Chapter 1

The House Select Committee will come to order . . .

The sharks are circling, their nostrils twitching at the scent of blood.  Thirteen of them, to be exact, eight from the opposition party and five from mine, sharks against whom I've been preparing defenses with lawyers and advisers.  I've leaned the hard way that no matter how prepared you are, there are few defenses that work against predators.  At some point, there's nothing you can do but jump in and fight back.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

The opening paragraphs give a realistic idea of what it's like to be in politics in current times.  It's been a while since I read a James Patterson book, and I'm drawn to this one because it combines Patterson's fast-paced plot with Clinton's political insider knowledge.  

This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing of this original post on Google+ are appreciated.