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, Death at a Country Mansion by Louise R. Innis. The excerpt shared is from a paperback version borrowed from the library.

First Chapter:  The ice in her glass tinkled provocatively as the scotch hit it. Another marriage in tatters. Her fourth, in fact. Serena shook her head and took a big gulp, feeling the whiskey encase her in a golden glow as it went down. Bastard. How could Collin do this to her? With an air hostess, of all people. What the hell was he thinking?

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

Death at a Country Mansion is the first book in the Daisy Thorne Mystery Series, and its opening sounds like the start of a juicy story and series.

 

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

 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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 an upcoming read, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

Beginning:  While in prison, I received a dictionary. It was sent to me with a note. This is the book I would take to a deserted island. Other books were to arrive from my teacher. But as she had known, this one proved of endless use.

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Page 56:  "Do you believe in ghosts?" I asked.

"You know I don't. Or you know what I think, anyway."

"I was hoping you'd changed your mind."

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My thoughts:  It's a curious beginning that has me wondering who the narrator is; why this person is in prison; who the teacher is; and about the title, which could relate to jail time as well as the mentioned dictionary. I'm eager to begin reading to satisfy my curiosity.

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From GoodReads:  In this stunning and timely novel, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich creates a wickedly funny ghost story, a tale of passion, of a complex marriage, and of a woman's relentless errors.

Louise Erdrich's latest novel, The Sentence, asks what we owe to the living, the dead, to the reader and to the book. A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading with murderous attention, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning.

The Sentence begins on All Souls' Day 2019 and ends on All Souls' Day 2020. Its mystery and proliferating ghost stories during this one year propel a narrative as rich, emotional, and profound as anything Louise Erdrich has written.

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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. 

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 a recent read, Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins. The excerpt shared is from a Net Galley eBook copy.

First Chapter:  Sometimes I wonder if people on vacation think they're actually on another planet. 

Or maybe just another dimension?

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I did . . .  and here's what I thought . . . of this novel about a vacation that goes horribly wrong . . .

When Lux and Nico are hired to ferry two young women aboard their boat, the Susannah, the four twenty-somethings set sail from Maui in search of adventure. Their destination is Meroe Island, a deserted atoll in the Pacific. Aware of the dark history of the island, the group is surprised to find a couple docked there who are also pursuing a sense of wanderlust. The six become fast friends--lounging and swimming all day and partying all night in the idyllic setting. To all appearances, they are a carefree group of vacationers.

But they discover that the island paradise is not as perfect as it seems--and living off the grid becomes quite perilous as the secrets and lies these individuals are keeping begin to unravel. As their past transgressions come to light, a series of betrayals emerges. Not knowing who--if anyone--is trustworthy, each must rely on their survival skills in hopes of returning to civilization alive.

Reckless Girls is an intricately woven tale of suspense with a cast of well-drawn characters. The plot's touches of Robinson Crusoe, Lord of the Flies, and Darwinism makes it a compelling page turner written by an author who has proven herself to be a master storyteller.

 

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

 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 a current read, State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. The excerpt shared is from a hardcover version borrowed from the library. 

First Chapter:  "Madame Secretary," said Charles Boynton, hurrying beside his boss as she rushed down Mahogany Row in her office in the State Department. "You have eight minutes to get tot he Capitol."

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I had been on the library hold list for ages, waiting for my turn at this novel. The timing of its arrival makes it my first read of 2022. From the very beginning, you get an insider's view of the role of the Secretary of State, and I can't wait to see where these immensely talented authors will take the story.

 

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

First Book of the New Year 2022

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to my first post of the new year . . . and my participation in First Book of the Year . . . hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. This is one of my favorite memes and a great way to begin the reading year. Kudos to Sheila for starting--and carrying on--this tradition over the past nine years.  

As I prepared this post, I perused the many tempting titles in my book piles, reminding myself of all the great novels that await me.

With that in mind, my first book of 2022 is . . .

 

State of Terror

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

I am looking forward to reading this thriller written by two immensely talented women. This book is sure to get my reading year off to an exciting start.

This First Book of the Year 2022 post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.