Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays: Clea


This week my teaser lines come from Clea, the final novel in Lawrence Durrell's series of novels known collectively as the Alexandria Quartet.  I read the first three books -- Justine, Balthazar, and Mountolive -- many years ago, and don't know why I've waited so long to get to this one.  I guess I was waiting for the Middle East Reading Challenge to come along and give me the necessary nudge.  This snippet comes very early in the novel -- I'm reading an electronic version, so I'm not sure about page numbers.
A faint and terrible moaning came out  across the water towards us, pulsing like the wing-beats of some fearful prehistoric bird -- sirens which howled as the damned must howl in limbo. One's nerves were shaken like the branches of a tree.
Durrell is a wonderful writer and I'm enjoying the book so far.  It's not exactly heavy on plot or action, though -- but some really gorgeous prose.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Booking Through Thursday: Sporting


This week, BTT asks a couple of sports-related questions:
1. Do you read books about sports? 
2. How about AT sporting events? (Kid’s soccer practice?)
And my answers are really pretty simple: No and No.

I do consider myself something of a sports fan -- I watch lots of sports on TV (mostly because the hubby watches them, but I enjoy them too).  But we VERY rarely attend live sporting events, so the second question really doesn't even apply in my case. 

And I hardly ever read a sports-related book, although one of my favorite "new finds" of recent years was The Longshot by Katie Kitamura, set in the world of mixed martial arts.  I would never have picked that one up if I hadn't been sent the ARC for review -- and I ended up really loving it.  So I guess that just shows how valuable a step out of your comfort zone can be.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler


This week I'm taking my teaser lines from the classic children's book, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, written by E.L. Konigsburg who died last Friday.  I read this one for the first time a few years ago and really enjoyed it, so in honor of Konigsburg's passing, I gave it a quick re-read over the weekend and as a "tease," here's a snippet from the beginning of the tale:
Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away.  That is, running away in the heat of anger with a knapsack on her back.  She didn't like discomfort; even picnics were untidy and inconvenient: all those insects and the sun melting the icing on the cupcakes. Therefore, she decided that her leaving home would not be just running from somewhere but would be running to somewhere.  To a large place, a comfortable place, an indoor place, and preferably a beautiful place.  And that's why she decided upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Good book.  But I used to work in a museum, and it was definitely spooky after all the visitors and staff left for the day -- so I'm not really sure about living in a museum, even for a short time.  Still -- good book.



Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Monday, April 15, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


Didn't get a great deal of reading done last week -- we were busy with visitors and errands and family stuff.  But I did manage to get through one book.  Hoping to finish at least three or four more before the end of the month, so I can get back on track for my 50-book goal for the year.  So far, this week looks pretty clear -- I might even be able to get a few reviews posted (fingers crossed).
  • Finished last week:

The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club. Duncan Whitehead
**Will try to get a review of this one up later today. **

  • Reading this week:
 Clea. Lawrence Durrell

 Fer-de-Lance. Rex Stout

 The Flamethrowers. Rachel Kushner


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays: Fer-de-Lance


This week my teaser lines come from Fer-de-Lance, the first book in Rex Stout's series of Nero Wolfe mysteries.  In this snippet, narrated as usual by Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin, we get our very first glimpse of the great man himself.
Wolfe lifted his head. I mention that, because his head was so big that lifting it struck you as being quite a job.  It was probably really bigger than it looked, for the rest of him was so huge that any head on top of it but his own would have escaped your notice entirely. (p.2)
I've read a few other Nero Wolfe books in the past, but somehow managed to miss this first one.  And so far, I'm loving it.




Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Monday, April 01, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


Well, here we are -- first Monday in April AND first day of the month.  Also April Fool's Day, and I was sorely tempted to do one of those "Gotcha!" posts for today.  Maybe talk about how I got through War and Peace plus several volumes of Proust last week -- NOT!  But that would be really lame, right?  Right.

So, truth.  In March, I managed to get back to reading after having a lot of STUFF get me off track earlier in the year.  Actually finished five books, although I'm still working on getting the reviews posted.  Here's what I read in March:


Of course, two of those are children's books, so they were easy to get through.  Nevertheless, I'm still pretty amazed.  Enjoyed almost all of them -- Cold Remains was hard to finish, but I'll have more to say about that in my review.

This week, I'm trying to finish up The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (another children's book -- I seem to be on a roll...or in a rut), and The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner.  After that, I'm not sure what's up next.  How about you?  Got any idea what you'll read in April?


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.