Welcome to a potpourri of fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by A Few More Pages; 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’m excerpting from a book from next week’s stack.

Atonement, by Ian McEwan, has been on my stacks for awhile.  It is a story about lies, betrayals, and consequences that unfold over a very long time.

The novel opens on a sweltering summer day in 1935 at the Tallis family’s mansion in the Surrey countryside. Thirteen-year-old Briony has written a play in honor of the visit of her adored older brother Leon; other guests include her three young cousins — refugees from their parent’s marital breakup — Leon’s friend Paul Marshall, the manufacturer of a chocolate bar called “Amo” that soldiers will be able to carry into war, and Robbie Turner, the son of the family charlady whose brilliantly successful college career has been funded by Mr. Tallis. Jack Tallis is absent from the gathering; he spends most of his time in London at the War Ministry and with his mistress. His wife Emily is a semi-invalid, nursing chronic migraine headaches. Their elder daughter Cecilia is also present; she has just graduated from Cambridge and is at home for the summer, restless and yearning for her life to really begin. Rehearsals for Briony’s play aren’t going well; her cousin Lola has stolen the starring role, the twin boys can’t speak the lines properly, and Briony suddenly realizes that her destiny is to be a novelist, not a dramatist.

In the midst of the long hot afternoon, Briony happens to be watching from a window when Cecilia strips off her clothes and plunges into the fountain on the lawn as Robbie looks on. Later that evening, Briony thinks she sees Robbie attacking Cecilia in the library, she reads a note meant for Cecilia, her cousin Lola is sexually assaulted, and she makes an accusation that she will repent for the rest of her life….

***

Beginning:  The play—for which Briony had designed the posters, programs and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper—was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.

A very intense opener….I’m exhausted just imagining this flurry of activity.

***

P. 56:  To steady herself, Lola put her hands on her hips.  Her heart was beating painfully hard and she could not trust herself to speak, even though she knew she had to.

***

I’m in for an intense read with this one.  What have the rest of you excerpted?  I hope you’ll come on by and share….

But Coco wants nothing to do with that life. After graduating from Princeton, she begins law school at Stanford, but drops out and creates a dog walking business. A way to enjoy life on her terms. Unfortunately, her family disapproves, and even though her father is now dead, her mother and sister miss no opportunity to show how much they cannot understand her choices.

Jane is also a bit of a bully, treating Coco like a recalcitrant child, whom she somehow wrangles into house-sitting when she and her partner Liz go to New York. Their home in San Francisco is gorgeous, and should be a treat. But Coco is still frustrated by how her sister always manages to get her way, and is then stunned to meet an unexpected houseguest; someone she recognizes from the movies. Movie star Leslie Baxter is even more handsome in person, and before she knows it, Coco and he are involved in a passionate love affair.

From this point on, the story can conceivably only go in one direction. The two will meet obstacles along the way, have a few disagreements about the lifestyle, and may even part for a bit. But there will definitely be some kind of happy ending, since this is a romance novel. Even knowing this, I did enjoy the story, with the descriptions of beautiful settings, scenes, clothing, and jewels. The glitz and glamor that Steel can present to the readers is as predictable as the plot. Because I did like the lighter fare for a change, I’m giving One Day at a Time: A Novel3.5 stars.

A Rainy Day

We hadn’t had any rain in quite awhile…so today’s showers felt good.  Cozy, even.  Especially since rainy weekends conjure up thoughts of reading, watching movies, and just hanging out.  

Later, my grandson Noah will come over…he’ll have his video games, but he also loves it when we order a movie from On Demand.  He is a great conversationalist, and comes up with some interesting remarks and observations.

Earlier in the month, he celebrated his ninth birthday.  So I’m looking forward to enjoying some time with him on this rainy, cozy day.

I’m also going to be reading from this book, which I’m loving….

Imagine a family made up of quirky individuals, and you’ll have a visual image of these three sisters, who come home to help their mom in caring for their disabled brother.  One of the sisters describes Henry, the brother, as the only “normal” member of their family.

These family members take “dysfunction” to a whole new level.

What are you doing on this Saturday?  Is it cozy where you are?  Rainy, snowy, sunshiny?

Welcome to a potpourri of fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by A Few More Pages; 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’m excerpting from a book from next week’s stack.

The Quick and the Thread, by Amanda Lee, is a cozy mystery I received awhile back from Pudgy Penguin Perusals.

First in a new mystery series that will have readers stitching-and itching for more

When Marcy Singer opens an embroidery specialty shop in quaint Tallulah Falls, Oregon, she throws a soiree and a Stitch-In. Soon, Marcy’s sign- up sheet for embroidery classes fills up and everyone in town seems willing to raise a glass-or a needle-to support the newly-opened Seven Year Stitch.

Then Marcy finds the shop’s previous tenant dead in the store-room, a message scratched with a tapestry needle on the wall beside him. Now Marcy’s shop has become a crime scene, and she’s the prime suspect. She’ll have to find the killer before someone puts a final stitch in her.

***

Beginning:  Just after crossing over…under…through…the covered bridge, I could see it.  Barely.  I could make out the top of it, and that was enough at the moment to make me set aside the troubling grammatical conundrum of whether one passes over, under, or through a covered bridge.

Hmm, now I’m intrigued!  I wonder what the narrator is seeing, so naturally I’m going to keep reading.

***

P. 56:  Vera smiled.  “I’m sorry for what happened to Timothy, of course, but I’ve been looking forward to this class.”

***

Now I’m eager to hop around the blogosphere to see the snippets you’ve all shared!

It’s Hump Day again…and even though the day is more than half over, it’s the first chance I’ve had to express my frustration.  My irritation.

Yes, time to rant a bit.

Have you ever had one of those days—and I’m sure you have!—when everything you try to do ends up consuming more time and energy than you have?  When everything ends up being an endless frustration?

Well, today was a series of those moments.  It started out with a simply refill order online (Kaiser), and ended up with me spending a good part of the morning on endless phone calls.

No, it wasn’t all about the Kaiser issue; that took a while to sort out, and while I was waiting for that to resolve itself, I was on a series of calls related to a bill.  Yes, a bill that was an error, but took waiting for a live person for a very long time, only to be redirected (or should I say misdirected) to another number…another wrong one.  I ended up on the phone for 45 minutes to sort that out!

The good news…it was eventually resolved.  So was my prescription.  And I discovered that the website was undergoing changes, which was why I had to resort to the phone in the first place.

Pulling My Hair Out!!

I felt like this photo above…pulling my hair out.

Now I need some of this:

Or maybe this:

The good news of the day:  I’m loving the book that I’ve been reading, and while I was on “hold” numerous times, I was able to read a few more pages of this one.

What do you do when you’re on your last nerve?  When frustrations seem to mount and accumulate until you feel like exploding?  Come on by and share, please!!

Welcome to Monday Potpourri and our bookish event:  Musing Mondays, hosted by Should Be Reading.

Today’s topic:

What devices –if any– do you read books on? Do you find it enjoyable, or still somewhat bothersome? Or: If you only read the print books, why haven’t you chosen to read on any devices?

***

A little over a year ago, I would have answered a resounding “no,” I read only print books.

But my daughter gave me Sparky, my Kindle, and I now have a very strong positive relationship with her.  Easy downloads and less expensive reads are the most obvious positives…and then there’s the way you can carry a whole library with you when you go out the door, whether it’s for travel or to the neighborhood coffee shop.

Last Year's Christmas Gift

Sometimes, while eating, I get a bit nervous to read on Sparky.  What if I splash soup on her?  And at night, I’m wary of dropping her on the floor while reading in bed.  But I seem to be overcoming these uncertainties.

One of my own creations, Web of Tyranny, is available on Kindle, as well as in print. 

I hope to have two more titles out this year, and I’m wondering if I should just put them on Kindle…or both e-book and print.

What do you think about devices?  I know that I’ll always want some print books…I love being surrounded by my overflowing shelves.

Cozy Ambience

As far as obsessions go, I guess mine for soaps is right up there.

Like many fads (or obsessions), mine came out of the blue.  It happened on a summer day when I was just a teen.  I was visiting my cousin, and she was watching As the World Turns (Another soap that died).

I only watched it sporadically for awhile, but when I was in college, I often watched various soaps between classes.

Then when I was home with the babies, I watched some more.  But still only sporadically.  However, my obsession was thoroughly entrenched by then.

Then along came VCRs, followed in more recent years by DVRs, and a total fixation came along as well.

It’s not as though you are missing other things when you can DVR the shows, although I do occasionally like to watch them live.  Okay, who am I kidding?  I’m glued to them, in between blogging, reading, etc.

But today another soap died.  One Life to Live aired its last episode today.

But here’s some good news!  Some of the actors will be migrating to other shows:  as new characters, or even as themselves.

Check out Soap Moments:  Life After Llanview.

If you ever watched a soap (or still do), what about the show(s) grabs you?  Did you start watching with a friend or family member?

Check out Carolyn Opinion Hinsey’s Facebook page for regular updates.

Welcome to a potpourri of fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by A Few More Pages; 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.

Give us the book title and author, so when we’re tempted by your excerpts, we can read it too!

Today I am featuring a book from next week’s stack:  an ARC from Amazon Vine called Unraveling Anne, by Laurel Saville.  A memoir of a mother, written by her daughter.

Blurb:  “After all, this is my mother we’re talking about. As her daughter, I belonged to her; as my mother, she also belongs to me. I don’t have her anymore, but I still have her story.” In 1950s Los Angeles, Anne Ford was the epitome of the California golden girl, a former beauty queen and model-turned-fashion designer whose success and charm were legendary. So how is it possible that such a woman could die in squalor, an alcoholic street person brutally murdered in a burnt-out West Hollywood building? In searching for answers to the heartbreaking trajectory of her mother’s life, writer Laurel Saville plumbed the depths of Anne’s troubled past and her own eccentric childhood to untangle the truth of an exceptional, yet tragic, existence. What she discovered was a woman who was beautiful, well-educated, and talented—yet tormented by internal demons and no match for the hedonistic culture of Southern California in the 1960s and 70s. With unflinching honesty and stirring compassion, Saville struggles to reconcile the two faces her mother presented the world: the glamour-girl-about-town the public saw and the unpredictable, bitter alcoholic her children knew. Most importantly, Saville explores how what we bring forward from previous generations can shape our own lives, and how compassion and love for a difficult parent can be a person’s bridge to a better life.

***

Beginning – Prologue:

“Murdered?”

The word always gets repeated.  Sometimes the whole sentence.  “Your mother was murdered?”  As if I could get something like that wrong.  As if I could be mistaken.

***

Beginning – Chapter One:

This is one of my earliest memories.

It is 1968.  Or maybe 1969.  My mother and I are on our way home from my half day of kindergarten, walking west down the eight or nine blocks of Sunset Boulevard between Gardner Street Elementary School and our house on the corner of Fairfax Avenue.  The midday sun is high, reflecting off the white concrete, the white stucco buildings, the smoggy particles in the air.  My mother loves this temperature, this dissipated light, so distinct to Southern California.  I find it an affront, a glary, squint-inducing assault.

***

Yes, that’s a bit lengthier than the typical two sentence opening lines.  I had to present the whole description for the “feel” of the opener.

***

P. 56:  From time to time, the gathering would be at a park where hundreds or maybe thousands of people collected for what was called, in the parlance of the time, a “love-in.”

***

I’m eager to read this one, as I love memoirs…especially about a time in history that feels quite real to me.

What did you choose today?  I hope you’ll come on by and share….

Must. Change. Attitude

I love thinking about attitude.  So much of life comes down to our attitude.  There isn’t a whole lot we do have control over, but our attitude is definitely one of those things.

The photo above was snapped from a print that’s on my living room wall, from Mary Engelbreit.  At the bottom of the print is the caption:  Must. Change. Attitude.

Whenever we are frustrated by what life throws at us, we sometimes look around to see what we can change in the external world.  Instead, we should be examining our interior life.  We should be changing how we look at those events around us.  We should be changing the only thing we can:  our reaction to events.  Our attitude.

Oh, yes, it’s easy to express what we should do.  Doing it might be quite another thing.  In fact, it will be.  Sometimes, when we’re trying really hard to change our perspective—our attitude—we might only be able to act “as if.”  Yes, act as if we believe in that new perspective we’re going for…act until the feeling and behavior follow.

One of the things I want to adjust in my attitude is what I can accomplish each day and each year.  My New Year’s resolutions this year try to reflect a realistic attitude.  Goals that are achievable.

What do you hope to achieve each day—or this year!—and how will you manage to change your attitude to a more realistic one?

Welcome to another Hump Day Potpourri, an event that celebrates our journey through the week.

Earlier today, I started reading Hot Chocolate, a book I’ll be reviewing on 2/2/12 when it makes a blog tour stop at Chocolate & Mimosas.

So far, I’m loving the Alcott sisters, wealthy Houstonites who are dealing with the dilemma of their ninety-something father, while checking the astrological signs (Lila Mae) and feng shui.

Even as I ponder what will happen next for these very feisty senior citizens, I’m also excited about another book that arrived in Sparky, my Kindle today.

The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted, by Andrew E. Kaufman, came from Books, Thoughts and a Few Adventures.  Thanks, Patty!

What else have I been obsessing about today?  Well, as you can see in the new blog header today, I’ve been capturing photos around the house.  I love the banner on the right, from Mary Engelbreit; and, of course, I’m wild about the photo on the left, captured by the Berlin Photographer, a couple of years ago, spotlighting the restored Berlin Wall.  The banner reminds me that eating is an issue for a lot of people.  I love to eat…but I also want to be healthy and look good.  A dilemma….

Here’s the shot…just in case I change the header before you read the post…lol

I do change the headers frequently here.  I like to spotlight things I love…books and collections.

Do you have books or other things you’re obsessing about today?