Teaser Tuesday: The Lost Girls

This week my teaser lines come from The Lost Girls, the debut novel by Heather Young (William Morrow, July 2016). This snippet is from p.64:

Back at Lucy's, she pulled out the chocolate chips she'd smuggled into the Walmart shopping cart and announced they were going to bake cookies. Melanie's eyebrows shot up so fast that Justine laughed. "It's starting-over time" she told her, "and that requires cookies."

Well, what doesn't? Right?

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat. 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.

Book Beginnings: The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse, by Fiona Davis (Dutton, August 2016). These are the book's first lines:

New York City, 2016 

She'd forgotten the onions.
After all of the preparation, the lists, the running out of work early to finish shopping and buy everything she needed for their special dinner, Rose had forgotten a key risotto ingredient.

About the Book:

"Fiona Davis’s stunning debut novel pulls readers into the lush world of New York City’s glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women, where a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors lived side-by-side while attempting to claw their way to fairy-tale success in the 1950s, and where a present-day journalist becomes consumed with uncovering a dark secret buried deep within the Barbizon’s glitzy past."

Initial Thoughts:

Well, I have several thoughts.

First -- Been there. This sounds exactly like something I'd do -- except I always have onions on hand. I'd probably forget the rice.

Also -- This was an ARC; I've had it on the "up next" list for a couple of months now, and feel very guilty about that. So I've moved it up to the top of the pile.

And -- I remember reading about the Barbizon Hotel in women's magazines when I was a teenager, but that would have been a bit later than the period the book is set in. Close enough to catch my interest, though.

Finally -- I love risotto! But I would never attempt cooking it. Especially not for a "special dinner."

Oh, and one more -- don't you just love that outfit she's wearing on the cover?

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday.  As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesday: The Haunting of Hill House

This week my teaser lines come from The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel first published in 1959. One of my favorite novels; I've read it and re-read it over the years, and I'm thinking of reading it again this year, for both the Back to the Classics challenge and the RIP reading event. This snippet is the last paragraph of Chapter 1:

The house was vile. She shivered and thought, the words coming freely into her mind, Hill House is vile, it is diseased; get away from here at once.

The book has been reissued over and over again, with different cover designs. My first copy, back in the '60s had this cover -- a tie-in with the 1963 film starring Julie Harris and Claire Bloom:

And here's a wonderful cover on a new edition Penguin is bringing out this fall. Definitely a book I'd buy for the cover alone:

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat. 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.

Book Beginnings: The Graveyard Apartment

The Graveyard Apartment, by Mariko Koike (Thomas Dunne Books, October 2016). This is the first paragraph of Chapter 1:

When they got up that first morning, the little white finch was dead. The bottom of the cage was covered with a thick layer of loose feathers, and it looked as if there had been a violent struggle before the bird finally gave up the ghost.

What It's About:

"...the suspenseful tale of a young family that believes it has found the perfect home to grow into, only to realize that the apartment’s idyllic setting harbors the specter of evil...."


Initial Thoughts:

Ominous, hmmm? I like that the author (or translator?) gets the word ghost in right away, in the first sentence. Actually, the book really starts with an advertisement for the apartment of the title, but this was much more interesting. I'm also intrigued by the idea of a haunted apartment, instead of the usual isolated old house.

This is another book I'm thinking of reading for the RIP/XI reading event that continues through this month. Seems like a great story for this time of year, don't you think?

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday.  As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Book Beginnings: Devil Sent the Rain

Devil Sent the Rain, by Lisa Turner (William Morrow, September 2016). This is the first line of the book's Prologue:

The radio was playing "Blue Skies" when the gun went off.

My Thoughts:

I definitely like that beginning — the action and the mystery start with the very first sentence. Don't really know much about this book — just that it's a mystery in the Southern Gothic mode. But it's an Early Reviewer win from Library Thing and I've had it for a while now, so I need to get into it pretty quick. I've heard good things about Lisa Turner's earlier books in this series, and I'm hoping this one will be a good, fast read.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday.  As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Last week, I managed to finish two books. For me, that's pretty good, since it can take me several weeks just to read one, at my usual snail's pace. Gotta pick up that pace, though — my GoodReads home page tells me I'm eight books behind, in my effort to read fifty books this year. Yikes!

● What I read last week:

Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch

Tainted Tokay, by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen

● What I'm reading this week:

The Book That Matters Most, by Ann Hood

● What I should be reading, soon-ish:

Cruel Beautiful World, by Caroline Leavitt

What about you? Do you set yourself a goal for number of books read during the year? Or do you just take 'em as they come?

Oh, and is it just me, or does it seem September has slipped by even faster than usual, this year? I mean, it's almost October already!!!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. If you want to let the world know what 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.

Book Beginnings: Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd (Flavia de Luce Mystery #8), by Alan Bradley (Delacorte Press, September 2016). These are the book's opening lines:

The winter rain slashes at my face like icy razor blades, but I don't care. I dig my chin deep into the collar of my mackintosh, put my head down, and push on against the buffeting of the furious wind. 

I am cycling madly towards the village of Bishop's Lacey, fleeing hordes of Hell's hobgoblins.

My Thoughts:

First thought — so nice to have another visit with Flavia! Also, so glad to see we're back in England for this one. In the previous book (As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust, number seven in the series), Flavia had been exiled to Canada to attend her mother's old alma mater. I enjoyed that book, but I missed Bishop's Lacey and Gladys (Flavia's trusty bike), and all the slightly bizarre goings-on at Buckshaw, the family estate. It's great to be back home! I'm really looking forward to getting started on this one.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday.  As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.