FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — MARCH 29

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Today I’ve chosen a book from next week’s stack:  The Time of My Life, by Cecelia Ahern, is an ARC, so excerpts may be different in the final copy.

Beginning:  Chapter One

Dear Lucy Silchester,

You have an appointment for Monday 30 May.

I didn’t read the rest.  I didn’t need to, I knew who it was from.  I could tell as soon as I arrived home from work to my studio apartment and saw it lying on the floor, halfway from the front door to the kitchen, on the burned part of the carpet where the Christmas tree had fallen—and landed—two years ago and the lights had singed the carpet hairs.

***

56:  “Okay, so if I was to say that I won the lottery then that would be a barefaced lie because I’d clearly have no money but I would have to live my life as if I was a millionaire which would be complicated to say the least, but if I say I quit my job it doesn’t matter because I no longer work there so I don’t have to keep up the pretence of going there every day.

***

Wow!  This “narrator” talks in long, convoluted sentences!  lol

***

Amazon Description:  Lucy Silchester keeps receiving this strange appointment card and sweeping its gold embossed envelope under the rug. Literally. She busies herself with a job she doesn’t like, helping out friends, fixing her car, feeding her cat, and devoting her time to her family’s dramas. But Lucy is about to find out that this is one appointment she can’t miss, when Life shows up at her door, in the form of a sloppy but determined man.

Life follows her everywhere – from the office, to the bar, and to her bedroom – and Lucy learns that some of the choices she has made and the stories she has told aren’t what they seem. Now her half-truths are about to be revealed, unless Lucy tells the truth about what really matters to her.

***

I have enjoyed several books by this author, so I’m looking forward to this one.  What are the rest of you sharing today?  Come on by and let’s chat.

Ireland Vignette & Photos in my Ireland Room

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — FEB. 22

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Here’s my pick for today!  Blast from the Past, by Lauren Carr, is another Mac Faraday mystery.

 

Beginning:  Prologue – Campus Library, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland — Twelve Years Ago

Kendra Douglas could have sworn that she heard someone walking up in the library stacks.  While her head told her that the footsteps she had heard were only her imagination, the pounding in her heart insisted that someone was hiding up there, and that he likely had a knife—a big sharp knife.

Yikes!  I can feel it, too!

***

56:  She shoved him back into the limousine.  While all of the men stood in shock at the petite, little blonde’s display, she picked up Gnarly’s leash and headed back down Spencer Lane to home.

***

Amazon Description:  In this fourth mystery on Deep Creek Lake; Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs with mobsters and federal agents. After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars—Archie Monday! Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lakeshore resort town, things may be hotter than even he can handle.

***

Now I’m off to see what the rest of you are excerpting.  Come on by and let’s chat.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: DREAMING BOOKISH THOUGHTS — JAN. 18

Now that the holidays are behind us, what thoughts of the upcoming year insert themselves into your dreams?

I know that I am vowing to read more books from my stacks and from the library, thus avoiding the downward spiral of the whole bookshelf-toppling thing.

But we can still load up our gadgets, can’t we?  Sparky is welcoming the downloads, and I just went online to order a book due out in May…from an author whose previous book was so captivating that it was a favorite of mine last year. (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt). (click for my review).

Looking for Me, by Beth Hoffman, is that book.

What drew me to this book, other than my enjoyment of Hoffman’s prose?  Well, the cover for one thing.  And then there’s this blurb:

A Southern novel of family and antiques from the bestselling author of the beloved Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Beth Hoffman’s sparkling bestselling debut Saving CeeCee Honeycutt won admirers and acclaim with its heartwarming story and cast of unforgettable characters. Now, she rekindles her flair for evocative Southern settings and the inimitable eccentrics in her compelling new novel, Looking for Me.

Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky.  She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and opens her own graciously-appointed shop in Charleston. Breathing new life into these discarded objects gives Teddi purpose, but has never alleviated the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to find him. It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last.

Looking for Me is an unforgettable novel that is full of Hoffman’s signature heart and humor—and a grown-up love story to boot. It is destined to make her a bestselling novelist readers will want to read again and again as they have with Adriana Trigiani, Fannie Flagg, and Dorothea Benton Frank.

***

I can’t wait to read this one!  I’ll be featuring it on posts from now until its release.

As for the present—yes, we have to read while waiting for new books!—I’m enjoying Gods in Alabama, by Joshilyn Jackson; this is my second read from this author, and I borrowed the book from the library (see, I’m following some of my rules!).

I excerpted from this book in my Tuesday Sparks:  Intros/Teasers post.

And next, I’ll be reading another author that is relatively new to me; I read one previous book from his works (Midwives).  My up-next read is:  The Sandcastle Girls, by Chris Bohjalian.

What current or upcoming reads are capturing your book love this weekend?

 

 

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — JAN. 11

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Today I’ve pulled a book from my ever-growing stacks.  That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo, will be my first dive into this author’s work.

Beginning:  Though the digital clock on the bedside table in his hotel room read 5:17, Jack Griffin, suddenly wide awake, knew he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.  He’d allowed himself to drift off too early the night before.  On the heels of wakefulness came an unpleasant realization, that what he hadn’t wanted to admit yesterday, even to himself, was now all too clear in the solitary, predawn dark.

I’m familiar with those feelings!  I wonder what his are about?

***

56:  (One summer, after meeting the next door neighbor’s son)

“Have fun,” his parents said, by which they meant, Leave us in peace.

Except, wait, that wasn’t true, at least not in the beginning.

***

Following Bridge of Sighs—a national best seller hailed by The Boston Globe as “an astounding achievement” and “a masterpiece”—Richard Russo gives us the story of a marriage, and of all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth.

Griffin has been tooling around for nearly a year with his father’s ashes in the trunk, but his mother is very much alive and not shy about calling on his cell phone. She does so as he drives down to Cape Cod, where he and his wife, Joy, will celebrate the marriage of their daughter Laura’s best friend. For Griffin this is akin to driving into the past, since he took his childhood summer vacations here, his parents’ respite from the hated Midwest. And the Cape is where he and Joy honeymooned, in the course of which they drafted the Great Truro Accord, a plan for their lives together that’s now thirty years old and has largely come true. He’d left screenwriting and Los Angeles behind for the sort of New England college his snobby academic parents had always aspired to in vain; they’d moved into an old house full of character; and they’d started a family. Check, check and check.

But be careful what you pray for, especially if you manage to achieve it. By the end of this perfectly lovely weekend, the past has so thoroughly swamped the present that the future suddenly hangs in the balance. And when, a year later, a far more important wedding takes place, their beloved Laura’s, on the coast of Maine, Griffin’s chauffeuring two urns of ashes as he contends once more with Joy and her large, unruly family, and both he and she have brought dates along. How in the world could this have happened?

That Old Cape Magic is a novel of deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle-aged man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled one, his daughter’s new life and, finally, what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has. The storytelling is flawless throughout, moments of great comedy and even hilarity alternating with others of rueful understanding and heart-stopping sadness, and its ending is at once surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written.

***

Like most books on my stacks, I picked this one up happily, hoping to read it soon.  And then time passed….

What are you sharing today?  I hope you’ll pop in here and take a peek, and add some comments.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — JAN. 4

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Fridays are our time to reflect on what’s ahead, like books we’ll be reading soon.

I’ve already planned out next week’s reads, and the book I’ve chosen is from that pile.

So I’m sharing from a book on my stacks called There Was an Old Woman, by Hallie Ephron (an ARC).

Beginning:  Mina Yetner sat in her living room, inspecting the death notices in the Daily News.  She got through two full columns before she found someone older than herself.  Mina blew on her tea, took a sip, and settled into her comfortable wing chair.

Wow!  I love it….and I see my future in just a few years (lol).

***

56:  Boxes were clustered near some old car batteries on the floor by the car door.  One box contained cigarette cartons.  Another was nearly full of liquor bottles.

***

Amazon Description: There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron is a compelling novel of psychological suspense in which a young woman becomes entangled in a terrifying web of deception and madness involving an elderly neighbor.

When Evie Ferrante learns that her mother has been hospitalized, she finds her mother’s house in chaos. Sorting through her mother’s belongings, Evie discovers objects that don’t quite belong there, and begins to raise questions.

Evie renews a friendship with Mina, an elderly neighbor who might know more about her mother’s recent activities, but Mina is having her own set of problems: Her nephew Brian is trying to persuade her to move to a senior care community. As Evie investigates her mother’s actions, a darker story of deception and madness involving Mina emerges.

In There Was an Old Woman, award-winning mystery author Hallie Ephron delivers another work of domestic noir with truly unforgettable characters that will keep you riveted.

***

Now I’m off to see what the rest of you are sharing!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: TIDBITS ABOUT LIFE & BOOKS — DEC. 21

Desk – Close-up

As I opened my bleary eyes this morning, I first saw my desk in the corner.  Then the light on the alarm clock, followed by all the other details of my room.  And I thought:  we’re still here!

I’d had the usual potpourri of dreams that populate my nights.  A mix of past, present, and future served up with a large dose of unreality.

And filtering its way through all of it was that “end of the world” thing hovering overhead.

I guess it’s inevitable that, even when we don’t believe weird predictions (Y2k, Rapture…remember those?), a part of us wonders.  Could it be?

Nevertheless, I continued with my day yesterday, staying up rather late to finish Windfall, a richly layered story set in 1930s England…and wrote my review. (Click title).

Don’t you love a book that is so full of wonderfully flawed and interesting characters, threaded with plots and subplots that keep you guessing and turning those pages?

Now that I’ve closed the book on that story, I’m thoroughly enjoying Jeanne Cooper’s memoir, Not Young, Still Restless.

I am intrigued by many of the background details of her life, like growing up just south of where I now live; spending time in other cities where I have a history; and living with some rules and regulations that governed my childhood, too.

Of course, the similarities end there.  But the details, along with my years-long admiration for her as the centerpiece of one of my favorite soaps, have me eagerly turning those pages.

I am sure I’ll be finished very quickly.  And then on to the next book.  What’s next?

Well, I’m thinking of a book on Sparky that’s been patiently waiting:  a nonfiction story written by two of the authors with whom I share a group blog, Dames of Dialogue.

Whistling Woman, by C. C. Tillery (pseudonym for Caitlyn Hunter and Christy Tillery French).

What are you planning for your Pre-Christmas weekend?

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — DEC. 7

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Curl up and enjoy!  Today I’m featuring a book from next week’s stack:  The Good Woman, by Jane Porter.  I have preordered The Good Daughter, the next book in the series, so I thought I’d better read this one.

Beginning:  He was good.

Meg Roberts stood in the open doors of the Dark Horse Winery’s tasting room and watched her boss, Chad Hallahan, co-owner of the Napa Winery and VP of sales and marketing, work his magic on the women clustered around him.  There were quite a few clustered around, too.  But when weren’t there?

Okay…not the best opener.  But we get a hint of the characters and their personalities.

***

56:  Sarah craved security.  Nothing in her life felt stable right now.

***

Amazon Description:  Is it possible to leave it all behind?

The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being “the good woman” have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It’s here, alone together in an exotic city, far from “real” life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg.

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she’s ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something’s got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities—but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

***

What are you sharing today?  Come on by and leave some comments and links!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: TIE-DYE & BEADS — A DIP INTO THE PAST — OCT. 26

 

 

Maybe it’s because yesterday was my birthday, which always triggers a traipse down memory lane for me…or perhaps it’s because I’m always rearranging things and in the midst of it all, I recalled a beaded curtain I once had.

For whatever reason, I’ve been on a journey to find another beaded curtain. 

First I strolled into a shop that I haven’t visited in many years.  Called Kaleidoscope, it is definitely a blast from the past.

That shop is where I found my other beaded curtain.  But they were out of them…getting more in November.  Sounds like a reasonable wait…except I got impatient.

As I stretched my memory curve, trying to think of another place, I thought:  Google!  Yippee!  My search yielded some online venues, and Amazon was on the list.

Now I have the Tie-Dye Beaded Curtain with hanging hardware wending its way to me!

Okay…I know that I said my rearranging stuff was supposed to curb the shopping impulses.  And it did work, for the most part.

In fact, after I took my hats/handbags rack out of the bedroom and into the living room, I thought the urge would be satisfied.  And it worked…for awhile.

 

But my birthday made me think:  why not?

What do you dream about and wish for when you’re feeling nostalgic?  Or like celebrating?

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: TIDBITS FROM THE EDGE — MAY 25

Welcome to Friday Potpourri, during which I will share snippets about reading, life, etc.

I’m currently reading Objects of My Affection, by Jill Smolinski:  a book about a woman who takes on the task of decluttering the home of an eccentric artist.

My fascination with this topic is no secret…as a collector of all kinds of objects, ranging from books to dolls and fairytale images, I think I might be searching for validation and reassurance that I am not actually a hoarder.

Maybe it’s because someone called me a hoarder once and the label pierced my sensitive soul…lol

But after reading a memoir about the topic, along with other interesting articles, and after watching the hoarder show, I’m fairly certain I haven’t crossed that line.  Didn’t I just talk about this topic, though, you might ask?

Yes…but what is inserting itself into my thoughts today is a horrific dream I had last night: I had only hours to pack up my house and move.  I’m not sure why the haste, but the panic I felt at the prospect woke me up with a pounding heart.  And I didn’t want to go to sleep again!

Once awakened, I started obsessing about my laptop shopping.  What does this have to do with anything?  Well, I do tend to ruminate over unresolved issues when I awaken in the middle of the night, so naturally, everything I had learned in my shopping exploration yesterday was right there, floating in my mind, and keeping sleep at bay.  Finally I was able to set that aside with the reminder that I didn’t have to decide anything right then and there.

Something else that is keeping me up at night is 11/22/63, by Stephen King; I’m reading it primarily at night.  Bad idea?  I can’t put it down, though, and I’m more than half finished.  I’m totally engaged!

Have you read either of these books?  I’m glad they are quite different from one another, as I sometimes have difficulty keeping details separated while reading two books at once.  I know many people can read several, listen to a few on audio, and keep it all sorted out…but I’m not one of those people.

But I just know that I’m loving the character of Jake Epping, who is living in the 1950s and 60s as George Amberson and finding himself totally connected to the people and the place where he has landed.

King has really brought the flavor of that era to life for me, reminding me of what it was like being young during those iconic times.

Yesterday, I finished reading Another Piece of My Heart, by Jane Green (click title for review)…and again, enjoyed every minute, even when I was frustrated with the characters.  A very emotional read for me.

I think my weekend will be full of intriguing books, strolls through malls, and lunches in some of my favorite places.  What does your weekend look like?  What are you excited about?

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — APRIL 20

Welcome to a potpourri of fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

Today I’ve grabbed a book from my TBR stacks; it will be on next week’s reading list.  The Accidental, by Ali Smith, explores the nature of truth, the role of fate, and the power of storytelling.

Blurb:  Arresting and wonderful, “The Accidental” pans in on the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family one hot summer. There, a beguiling stranger called Amber appears at the door bearing all sorts of unexpected gifts, trampling over family boundaries and sending each of the Smarts scurrying from the dark into the light. A novel about the ways that seemingly chance encounters irrevocably transform our understanding of ourselves, “The Accidental” explores the nature of truth, the role of fate, and the power of storytelling. This book will change you.

***

Beginning:  My mother began me one evening in 1968 on a table in the cafe of the town’s only cinema.

Okay…since it’s a bit startling, I’m pulled right in.  It makes me wonder why this book has been languishing on my stacks for so long!

***

p. 56:  She has him by the leg; she is holding very tightly round it with both her arms.  Her arms are bare.  The leg she is holding is shaking against her chest; her face.

***

What will the rest of you tempt me with today?  Come on by and share, please!