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Posts Tagged ‘Rose City Reader’

Book Beginnings & A Giveaway

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , , on September 19, 2013| 14 Comments »

Welcome to a special edition (at least for me) of Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader. A couple of weeks ago, I won a copy of “Cleans Up Nicely” by Linda Dahl to review and I also got the opportunity to give away two other copies for review.  So listen up, my dear readers especially my fellow Book Beginnings peeps: if you have the opportunity to read and publicly review this book, leave a comment below by next Tuesday at 6:00pm Central Daylight Time and I will announce the winners next Thursday.

Here are the first lines:

“Her destination, that summer of 1977, is a luxury apartment building, upper Fifth Avenue, a slice of New York life completely alien to her.”

Even though this a pretty descriptive first line, it leaves many things unanswered.  Don’t worry though, questions are answered and much more. This book tells the story of a “starving artist”, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally, trying to make it in New York City during the 1970s.  I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I wonder, if this fiction is even close to the reality of the time, how these people survived.  I am surprised they all didn’t die from liver failure as much partying as they did. 

If you are looking for a book that has interesting characters and a story that flows along quite entertainingly, give this book a try. 

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , , on September 13, 2013| 6 Comments »

Don’t look now, but my book today is the next one in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon called “Voyager”.  Please join me over at Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader for this book and many others.  Here are the first lines:

“He was dead.  However, his nose throbbed painfully, which he thought odd in the circumstances.”

These lines won Ms. Gabaldon an award for the best opening lines and I can see why.  Her writing is so descriptive and her books are so chocked full of facts woven in with the fiction that sometimes it makes you wonder which parts were based on real events and which ones weren’t.  These books are addicting…once you start on Claire and Jamie’s adventure, you can’t stop until you have seen what happens next.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on August 29, 2013| 6 Comments »

It’s Friday, folks, so it is time for Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.  Grab a book, give us the first line or two, and then give us your opinion.  My book today was a free Kindle download called “Second Sight Dating” by Marianne Stephens:

“ ‘I want him, not that other one you just showed me.  Look at this guy,’ Miss “K” rattled on with a pout, a blue-polished fingernail pointing at a picture of Mr. “Thirty-six”.

I am not a big reader of plain old romance novels, so this was just ok for me but I am glad it was free.  No offense to the author, but it really just wasn’t my cup of tea.  The story idea was cute and the book was entertaining enough, but after reading part of the Outlander series, this was a little too simplistic.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on August 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

Way back in March, C & I attended the first Kentucky Green Living Fair and as a member of the Kentucky Food Bloggers Association, I received a wonderful gift bag.  Included in that bag is my Book Beginnings selection for today: a signed copy of “the pantry” by Catherine Seiberling Pond, a fellow Kentuckian. Here is the first line:

“Early American pantries were an outgrowth of food storage use in attics, cellars, and butteries (small rooms pronounced butt’ries).”

This book details the history and modern use of pantries in the home for food storage or just kitchen storage in general.  The photography is beautiful and the information is very interesting to me and I think would be to all food and cooking lovers. 

Please join me today at Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on August 1, 2013| 7 Comments »

Welcome back!  Join me over at Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and you just might find a new book to add to your “to-be-read” pile.  Today I am sharing the first lines from the second book in the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon called “Dragonfly In Amber”:

“Roger Wakefield stood in the center of the room, feeling surrounded.”

Hmmm, was Roger really surrounded and, if so, by what or who?  The Outlander series is one of my absolute favorites and I am actually re-reading it now before the newest book comes out at the end of the year.  Ms. Gabaldon weaves a story like no other that I have ever read and “Dragonfly In Amber” is full of historical facts that bear looking up for more information.  So much was happening in Scotland around the time that is portrayed in this book and it is so sad that so much destruction had to happen to such a beautiful place.

These are long and detailed books, but they are worth the effort it takes!

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on June 21, 2013| 4 Comments »

Thanks for joining me today for Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.  If you love books, hopefully you will find your new favorite in the list over at Rose City.  My book today is Maeve Binchy’s latest “A Week In Winter” and here are the first lines:

“Everyone had their own job to do on the Ryans’ farm in Stoneybridge. The boys helped their father in the fields, mending fences, bringing the cows back to be milked, digging drills of potatoes; Mary fed the calves, Kathleen baked the bread, and Geraldine did the hens.”

Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite all time authors.  In fact, she is one of the few writers that I will purchase the hard back editions of her books.  This one I found at my local library and I wasn’t even aware that Ms. Binchy had a new book release.  Once again, she has filled the pages with characters that we grow to love and care about along with happy endings.  That is another thing I love about Ms. Binchy’s books…usually there is a happy ending of sorts for everyone even if it is not exactly what the character would have wanted.  This is a lovely entertaining read.

Sadly, I learned that Ms. Binchy passed away after writing this book. This hurts my heart because I always enjoyed her stories and characters.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on June 7, 2013| 6 Comments »

Hello, my fellow book lovers and welcome to another edition of Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.  Join me, won’t you?  Today, I am sharing the first line or two from an old favorite, “Angels & Demons” by Dan Brown.  Mr. Brown has a new book out called “Inferno” and I wanted to refresh myself with the main character.  I can’t wait to read the new one!  I first read “Angels & Demons” several years ago and really enjoyed it.  In my opinion, it was just as good or maybe even a little better than “The DaVinci Code” which I enjoyed immensely.

“High atop the steps of the Great Pyramid of Giza, a young woman laughed and called down to him. “Robert, hurry up!  I knew I should have married a younger man!”  Her smile was magic.”

Doesn’t that just set a scene?  But is this reality or maybe a dream?  You will just have to read the book and find out.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on May 24, 2013| 3 Comments »

Thanks for joining me today for Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.  The book I am spotlighting is “A Clash of Kings”, the second in the series by George R.R. Martin.  To call these books “epic” is something of an understatement.  They are long and detailed with many characters with unusual names.  There are many times when I had to go back and re-read a few sentences to make sure I had all of the players straight!

“The comet’s tail spread across the dawn, a red slash that bled above the crags of Draonstone like a wound in the pink and purple sky.”

Was the comet a sign?  Is Dragonstone an important place?  You will just have to read and find out.  I hope to eventually read the rest of the series, but I may have to take a break from it for a little while.  Usually reading relaxes me and I can do it anywhere, but these books take a lot of concentration to keep up with all of the action.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on May 10, 2013|

Happy Friday, everyone!  The weekend is almost here and that means it is time for another Book Beginnings post.  After you read mine, jump on over to Rose City Reader who is the gracious host of the literary link party.  There you will find a link to my post and other book loving bloggers.

Today, my beginning lines come from “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin:

“We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. “The wildlings are dead.”

Ooh, doesn’t that sound ominous? Who are the wildlings and how did they die?  Is that who Gared was looking for or did he just happen upon them?  So many questions!

I picked up this book while my dad was in the hospital and I needed some way to pass the time.  This is not a story for the faint of heart.  It is full of action, violence, love, hate, and every other emotion you can think of.  I enjoyed it and have read the second book of the series. 

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , , on April 26, 2013| 3 Comments »

Welcome to another Friday which means it is time for Book Beginnings!  Head on over to Rose City Reader to see what I and other bloggers have been reading lately.

My book today is “Notorious Nineteen” by Janet Evanovich which is another in the funny and entertaining Stephanie Plum series.  It is always a hoot to see what mischief and mayhem Plum the Bounty Hunter can get into next!

“ “I don’t know why we gotta sit here baking in your car in the middle of the day, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of this crummy neighborhood,” Lula said.  “It must be two hundred degrees in here.  Why don’t we have the air conditioning on?” “

Now, if you have read any of this series, you know there must be a reason there is no air conditioning in Stephanie’s car.  She is lucky to even have a car for more than a few days!  These books are funny and easy to read.  If you haven’t tried them, grab one and see if you can read it without laughing out loud. 

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