Teaser Tuesday – The Taking

teasertuesdays31Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read.  Open to a random page.  Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!).  Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

The chill that spread through Molly was different from any that she had experienced previously.  It was not a quivery thing localized along the spine or the nape of the neck, did not shiver through her like a vagrant breath of eternity, but lingered.  A coldness seemed to be spawned in the very cavities of her bones, in the red-and-yellow mush of marrow, from which it spread outward to every cell in every extremity.

The Taking by Dean Koontz Chapter 21

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Okay, so it’s three sentences, but who’s counting?  This is a perfect one for Halloween-time.  What are you reading today?

Book Giveaway – Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

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Today’s free book is a like-new mass market of Leaves of Grass.  Here’s the synopsis of this classic-

Whitman is today regarded as America’s Homer or Dante, and his work the touchstone for literary originality in the New World. In Leaves of Grass, he abandoned the rules of traditional poetry – breaking the standard metered line, discarding the obligatory rhyming scheme, and using the vernacular. Emily Dickinson condemned his sexual and physiological allusions as ‘disgraceful’, but Emerson saw the book as the ‘most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed’. A century later it is his judgment of this autobiographical vision of the vigor of the American nation that has proved the more enduring.

To enter to win leave a comment with your email address. 

To earn one extra entry you can post this on Twitter or post it on your blog.  Leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Open internationally.  Winner will be picked on October 11th.

First Lines Quiz

Check out the answers to last week’s Presidential Censorship Quiz.

Here’s how to play…Identify the first lines of these famous novels by telling me what book it’s from.  Leave a comment with the # of the first line and the title of the book and I’ll cross it off the list.  No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun!  

As a hint here are the authors you’ll find quoted here – Moore. London, Hurston, Crace, Jackson, Eugenides, Gilbert, McCullers, Hoffman, Gaiman, Hoeg, Sedaris, Frazier, Fforde, Nabokov, Steinbeck, Smith, Tolstoy, Leonard, Alcott

1. When the teacher asked if she might visit my mother, I touched my nose eight times to the surface of my desk. NAKED by DAVID SEDARIS

2. In the town, there were two mutes and they were always together.  THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER BY CARSON MCCULLERS

3. In a country such as Amerika, there is bound to be a hell-of-a-lot of food lying around just waiting to be ripped off.  STEAL THIS BOOK by ABBIE HOFFMAN

4. At the first gesture of morning, flies began stirring.  COLD MOUNTAIN by CHARLES FRAZIER

5. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Beth F

6. Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom.  The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore – Tiny Librarian

7.No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.  THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE BY SHIRLEY JACKSON

8. When Fat Charlie’s dad named something, it stuck.  Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, Thoughts of Joy

9. Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.  THE CALL OF THE WILD by JACK LONDON

10. It’s freezing-and extraordinary 0 degree Fahrenheit-and it’s snowing, and in the language that is no longer mine, the snow is qanik-big, almost weightless crystals falling in clumps and covering the ground with a layer of pulverized white frost.  SMILLA”S SENSE OF SNOW by PETER HOEG

11. I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – Fleurfisher

12. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy- Calila

13. When Chili first came to Miami Beach twelve years ago they were having one of their off-and-on cold winters: thirty-four degrees the day he met Tommy Carlo for lunch at Vesuvio’s on South Collins and had his leather jacket ripped off.  GET SHORTY by ELMORE LEONARD

14. On the morning  the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide-it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese-the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope. – The Virgin Suicides (Wanda) by JEFFREY EUGENIDES

15. Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.  THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD BY ZORA NEALE HURSTON

16. Going to Ford’s Theatre to watch a play in like going to Hooters for the food.  EAT ,LOVE ,PRAY by ELIZABETH GILBERT

17. My father had a face that could stop a clock.  The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde – Fleurfisher

18. To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.  Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – Calila

19. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock.  Lolita by Vladimir – Candice

20. For old time’s sake, the doctors of zoology had driven out of town that Tuesday afternoon to make a final visit to the singing salt dunes at Baritone Bay.  BEING DEAD by JIM CRACE

I found all of these lines in 1001 Books for every Mood and I”ll be reviewing it on Wednesday.

Book Giveaway – The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee

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Today’s FREE book is a brand new trade paperback.  Published 2008, 293 pages.  Here’s the synopsis from B&N

If you think McDonald’s is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.

To enter to win leave a comment with your email address. 

To earn one extra entry you can post this on Twitter or post it on your blog.  Leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Open internationally.  Winner will be picked on October 11th.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote: Book CoverFinished 10-02-09, rating 4/5, fiction novella, pub. 1958

“I could hear Doc Golightly’s footsteps climbing the stairs.  His head appeared above the banisters and Holly backed away from him, not as though she were frightened, but as though she were retreating into a shell of disappointment.  Then he was standing in front of her, hangdog and shy.  “Gosh, Lulamae,” he began, and hesitated, for Holly was gazing at him vacantly, as though she couldn’t place him.  “Gee, honey,” he said, “don’t they feed you up here?  You’re so skinny.  Like when I first saw you.  All wild around the eye.”

I love the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and wanted to read the novella it originated in.  This is a short story that is edgy and provocative in a way the movie was not.  There were many passages that were in the movie word for word, but oftentimes they were completely out of context.  The movie was romantic and Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly was flawed and vulnerable, but not so with this amazing story.

Paul writes the story of his time spent with Holly Golightly years after they have seen each other for the last time, when he puts her on a plane to Brazil.  He decides is finally time to document the refreshing Holly and his love for her.  They lived in the same apartment and saw each other in passing for a while before their friendship blossomed.  His position was to view her from afar for the most part as the friendship stopped and started often.

Holly Golightly was an independent woman who knew what she wanted and didn’t let things like facts get in the way.  She was a phony, but a good phony.  Truman Capote wrote a beautiful novel  and even though it differed quite a bit from the movie, I loved it on its own merit.  If you are a fan of the movie you really must read this.  At around 100 pages it won’t take you long.

Book Giveaway – Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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Today’s FREE book is a mass market paperback read once.  Published in 1989, 497 pages.  Here’s the synopsis-

She was the most beautiful British bauble in Europe’s jet-set playgrounds. Now she’s broke, furious, and limping down a backwoods road in an ugly pink Southern Belle gown….

He was tall, lean, and all-American gorgeous. He liked his brews cold and women loved to keep him warm. Why in hell is he stopping his car for this woebegone, surly Scarlett?

Meet Francesca Day and Dallie Beaudine, two incredible characters whose tangled love affair is at the heart of this ravishing New York Times bestseller from award-winning author Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Come enjoy the adventure of a lifetime — an irresistible story that’s touching, hilarious, and hellcat-passionate. You’ll never forget Dallie and the sassy lady who needs a good swift kick in her…

To enter to win leave a comment with your email address. 

To earn one extra entry you can post this on Twitter or post it on your blog.  Leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Open internationally.  Winner will be picked on October 11th.

Ohio State Game Day Saturday

Ohio State travels to Indiana to play at 7 pm tonight.  I thought instead of trivia I’d provide a clip of one of the best Ohio State football traditions, Script Ohio.  This is a favorite of anyone attending a game.  Enjoy.

My husband and Staci are very happy that Michigan State won in overtime 26-20 against their in-state rival Michigan (sorry Thoughts of Joy).

Kathy’s Virginia Tech wins against Duke.

Wordlily is cheering for Nebraska and Linda’s Cal Bears have a blogging cheerleader.

And Bonnie and Em will be waiting with me for the Ohio State-Indiana kickoff at 7pm.

What about your team?  Let us know how they did today.

Giveaway- MK Indulge Soothing Eye Gel

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Today’s FREEBIE is a jar of the Mary Kay Indulge Soothing Eye Gel.  I looked through my Mary Kay inventory and found the one product I think every reader can use.  This is used to reduce under eye puffiness, but it also is a great pick me up when you are tired or suffer from eye strain.  Which will be perfect for those who are participating in Dewey’s 24 hour read-a-thon October 24-25.  Here’s the product description-

Revive a tired-looking appearance with this cool, soothing gel. Contains botanicals reported to tone, firm and reduce the appearance of puffiness in the eye area. Can be used as a mask or a leave-on product.

To enter to win leave a comment with your email address. 

To earn one extra entry you can post this on Twitter or post it on your blog.  Leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Open internationally.  Winner will be picked on October 11th.

Book Giveaway – Transparency by Frances Hwang

HB 2Today’s free book is a brand new trade paperback.  Published in 2007, 219 pages.  Here’s the synopsis from B&N

With a deceptively simple yet graceful style, and in the tradition of Lara Vapnyar, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Gish Jen, Frances Hwang captures the thousand minor battles waged in the homes of immigrants—struggles to preserve timehonored traditions or break free of them, to maintain authority or challenge it, and to take advantage of modern excesses without diluting one’s ethnic identity.

To enter to win leave a comment with your email address. 

To earn one extra entry you can post this on Twitter or post it on your blog.  Leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Open internationally.  Winner will be picked on October 11th.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie: Book CoverFinished audio 9-30-09, rating 5/5, YA, pub. 2007

This is a first person account of Junior, a 14-year-old on the Spokane reservation.  Born with physical problems that have made him a target of bullies, Junior uses his brain and his best friend, Rowdy, to navigate through school.  When he becomes frustrated with what textbooks are being used and hurls one that hits a teacher, he faces his first school disciplinary problem.  Instead of letting Arnold wallow and fail the teacher convinces him he needs to go off the rez to school, one with rich, white kids where he can learn to make his way in the non-Indian world.

Junior is Arnold at his new school and his acceptance by a popular girl leads Arnold to flourish socially as well as academically.  But he still has to go back to the reservation when the school day is over and the people there resent him for trying to become white.  Arnold must learn the fine balance of living between two worlds.  His parents and grandmother are very supportive, but his best friend Rowdy has disowned him.

I cannot say enough good things about this book or hope to do it any sort of justice, but I’ll just say that I adored it and so did my husband.  It was humorous, irreverent, painful, honest and often laugh-out-loud funny.  This book tackles serious issues like alcoholism and death, but also provides hope for Arnold in the form of old friends and new who see something special in him. 

My husband and I listened to the audiobook read by the author and we both agree that this was part of its appeal for us.  Alexie uses his distinctive voice to breathe life into Arnold and it was perfection.  I understand that there are book versions that have illustrations and I might have to buy one of these for my library.  It’s that good.