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Posts Tagged ‘Rose City Reader’

Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on April 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

Welcome to this week’s edition of Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.  If you love books as much as I do, please check out this great link party to see what other bloggers are reading and writing about.

I have been re-reading a few old favorites the last couple of months and this week’s line comes from “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon.  This is the first book in a series that follows a time-traveling female doctor from the 1940’s to the Scottish Highlands in 1743.  It is an epic tale that continues through several books and I believe the next one comes out soon.  Can’t wait!

“It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.”

This makes you wonder what you might find at a second glance, doesn’t it?  If you haven’t read these books, please give them a try because I think they are wonderful!

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on March 29, 2013| 1 Comment »

It’s Friday so it is time for Book Beginnings over at Rose City Reader.  Hop on over there to check out Ms. Rose City’s book choice and other bloggers’ choices as well.  It is always entertaining.

My first lines are from Philippa Gregory’s “The Kingmaker’s Daughter”:

“My lady mother goes first, a great heiress in her own right, and the wife of the greatest subject in the kingdom.”

Ms. Gregory is successful yet again at letting us in on the inner workings of England’s royal life during the War of the Rose time period.  This book is part of a series that she is writing about the two families involved and they have all been entertaining so far.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on March 15, 2013|

Welcome to today’s edition of Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader.  Many thanks to her for hosting this great link party!  My book today is by one of my all-time favorite authors, Adrianna Trigianni.  I have read all of her books thanks to my local library and would love to re-read them which is a rarity for me. 

Her latest book is called “The Shoemaker’s Wife” and here is the beginning:

"The scalloped hem of Caterina Lazzari’s blue velvet coat grazed the fresh-fallen snow, leaving a pale pink path on the bricks as she walked across the empty piazza.  The only sound was the soft, rhythmic sweep of her footsteps, like hands dusting flour across an old wooden cutting board."

Ms. Trigianni is one of the best authors that I have read at setting a scene.  Can’t you just see this woman sweeping across an empty town square in a beautiful blue coat with the snowflakes falling around her.  I know I can.  This book was an epic tale and adventure with travel, war, love and loss.  I loved it!

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on February 15, 2013| 3 Comments »

Happy Friday!!  Please join in with me today for Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader and visit some of the other great bloggers over there, too.  My book today is the third and last book in the Magdalene series by Kathleen McGowan called “The Poet Prince”. 

Here is the first line:

“The Roman emperor Antoninus Pius was not a butcher.”

Hmmm…really?  This makes me wonder what, exactly, is going on that he has to make that distinction.  I won’t give too much away, but Pius has to make a grave decision about something that starts the ball rolling for this book.  Again, this is a FICTION book, but Ms. McGowan is excellent in combining fact and fiction.  The historical and art references are right on (I have been burning up Google while reading these books), and the weaving of the fictional story into these facts is outstanding.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on February 1, 2013| 2 Comments »

Please join me and other book lovers over at Rose City Reader today for Book Beginnings.  It is always interesting to find out what other bloggers are reading and their opinions about the books.  I hope you check it out and enjoy it as much as I do.

My book today is “The Book of Love” by Kathleen McGowan and it is the second book in a series of three.  Here are the first few lines:

“Heavy beeswax candles dripped along the perimeter of the cavern, illuminating the cramped meeting space.  The small community prayed with soft devotion, following the lead of the ethereal woman who stood before them at the stone altar.”

Can’t you just picture the stone walls of the cavern and the candlelight flickering against them with this “ethereal” woman leading a prayer service?  I have really enjoyed these books so far.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a Christian and I know that these are FICTION, but the storylines are really interesting and I have found myself looking up many of the historical names and places mentioned in these books.  The writer is excellent at weaving fiction with historical fact.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on January 4, 2013|

Welcome to my book corner!  I am linking up today over at Rose City Reader for her link party, Book Beginnings.  Join us by choosing a book you are reading, have read, or want to read and give us the first line or two.  Then let us know what your thoughts are on it.  It’s that easy!

My book today is “The Expected One” by Kathleen McGowan.  It is the first book in a trilogy and if the other two are as good as this one, I know I will be very entertained!

“There wasn’t much time left.  The old woman tugged the tattered shawl around her shoulders.”

These lines really make you wonder what the “old woman” was experiencing and why time was running out.  It also makes you wonder who this “old woman” is and why is she important?  It turns out that she is a very famous historical figure and, depending on whose theory you are listening to at the time, was a bad, sinful person or a good, but totally misunderstood, one. 

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on December 21, 2012| 4 Comments »

Hello, again!  It’s Friday so it is time for another Book Beginnings post.  Please join me and other bloggers at Rose City Reader for this fun and informative link party.  I am always amazed at the various genres of book that we all read and enjoy!

Today, my first lines come from Karen White’s book, “The Color of Light”:

“Jillian Parrish stood barefoot in her backyard, her toes curled into the cool grass, and wrapped her hands around the neck of her telescope.”

I think that this is a very descriptive opening line and it makes you feel like Jillian is seriously searching for something and she is.  This was an enjoyable book that is a fairly easy read.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on December 7, 2012| 2 Comments »

Please join me at Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings.  Grab a book, jot down the first line or two and give us your impression.  I really enjoy finding new authors and books this way because everyone has such different tastes!

The book I have today is “Pieces of The Heart” by Karen White.  I recently read Ms. White’s book “On Folly Beach” and loved it so I went looking for more of her work.  Luckily, my local library had several of Ms. White’s books so I picked this one.  Here are the first couple of sentences:

“Caroline sat and watched the small rock drop from her hand and into the dark, still water of Lake Ophelia, breaking the surface with a small plop.  The ripples eddied out in tiny circles, gradually spreading into great gaping spheres of silent water, reaching out toward the depths of the lake until she couldn’t see them anymore.”

I have to say that the author can definitely set the scene.  I can just see the small waves in the water of the lake and almost feel the lake breeze, too.  So far this is a good book, maybe not quite as good as “On Folly Beach”, but still enjoyable.

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on November 23, 2012| 2 Comments »

Please join me and other bloggers over at Rose City Reader for today’s edition of Book Beginnings.  Today’s book is “The Flight of Gemma Hardy” by Margot Livesey and I just happened upon this while browsing in my local library one day. The title and book cover caught my attention so I decided to give it a chance.  I find that I pick a lot of books that way.  For some reason, if it has a good attention-getting title and book cover, I automatically think it might be good and it usually is.

Here are the first lines:

“We did not go for a walk on the first day of the year.  The Christmas snow had melted, and rain had been falling since dawn, darkening the shrubbery and muddying the grass, but that would not have stopped my aunt from dispatching us.”

This paints a bleak picture, doesn’t it?  Well, the main character’s life so far has had quite a bit of loss and bleakness to it.  Hopefully, it can only get better!

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Book Beginnings

Posted in Books, tagged , , , , on November 9, 2012| 6 Comments »

Please join me over at Rose City Reader for today’s edition of Book Beginnings.  The book that my first line comes from is “The House I Loved” by Tatiana De Rosnay:

"My beloved,

I can hear them coming up our street.  It is a strange, ominous rumble."

Our local library had just gotten this book and it is the first of this author’s that I have read.  The cover is beautiful and really caught my eye.  The story is unlike anything I have read before since it is told in first person perspective with the main character writing letters to her deceased husband before their Paris neighborhood is destroyed to make way for a more modern city.  I don’t want to give too much away, but I was stunned at the way the author chose to end the story.  It wasn’t bad, but it definitely could have been more upbeat. 

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