Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser 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 people of Charles Town had fallen on hard times.  Coins were harder than ever to find, and the British government had passed laws preventing the use of paper currency in South Carolina.


~ p. 217, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

First Chapter - First Paragaph(s) - Tuesday Intros

This week's choice:

The Book of Neogroes by Lawrence Hill

Originally published January 2007

  

I seem to have trouble dying.  By all rights, I should not have lived this long.  But I still can smell trouble riding on any wind, just as surely as I could tell you whether it is a stew of chicken necks or pigs' feet bubbling in the iron pot on the fire.  And my ears still work just as good as a hound dog's.  People assume that just because you don't stand as straight as a sapling, you're deaf.  Or that your mind is like pumpkin mush.  The other day, when I was being led into a meeting with a bishop, one of the society ladies told another, "We must get this woman into Parliament soon.  Who know how much longer she'll be with us?" Half bent though I was, I dug my fingers into her ribs.  She let out a shriek and spun around to face me.  "Careful," I told her, " I may outlast you!"

Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag

The Broke and the Bookish is asking what top ten books should be in your beach bag.

1.  Harry Potter - Even though the books are YA, they are very engrossing books and take you to a place that basically doesn't exist.  And while the books get darker and heavier as the series moves on, they are very enjoyable. 

2. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake -  I suppose it doesn't help that I read this book last summer, but how book read, it definitely felt like a summer read.  The language in the book is such that the words melt in your mouth as you read the book, almost like a popsicle does.

3. Along for the Ride - Just as any good summer book should be fairly light and fluffy, it should also be set either in a location that is sunny or near a beach, even if one isn't near a beach.  As one review on  Goodreads said, "Reading Sarah Dessen is like walking into an air-conditioned store after a hot, humid day in the sun. Reading Sarah Dessen is also like drinking an ice-cold smoothie after a long, harsh marathon. And finally, reading Sarah Dessen is like eating comfort food: you always know what you're going to get, a tasty, satisfying treat."  Which was what I felt when I read this book.  Even though it was set in summer, it felt like summer and is definitely a book I would put in a beach bag.  I suppose that its a good read and engrossing.


4. Jane Eyre - One of my favourite reads.  Its a book that I could definitely read anywhere and most definitely on the beach.  While the book takes far away from a beach, it has the feeling of a beach read; its fits all the notions of a beach read and allows one to get absorbed in the book.  And yes, I have read it on a beach.


5. Pride and Prejudice - The nice thing about Jane Austen is that her books are light enough that one can read it while on a beach vacation.  Its funny, lighthearted, but doesn't go off the deep end in terms of the frivolity that some chick lit books go to.


6. House Rules - I have read about 3/4 of the book and this definitely a beach read.  The book is one of those that one could, and probably have, find in an airport bookshop. While the book is deep enough, the book is also easy enough to read so that one can read brief snatches of it.


7. Hidden Places - One of my favourite books and if I had to pick something for an afternoon at the beach, this would be something I would consider taking with me.  The book is deep enough, but light enough that I could escape for an afternoon.


At this point I am grasping at straws as to what I would bring to the beach.

Sunday Salon - Not in the mood

Its funny what can get me in the mood to read,  but its also interesting what can get me in the mood to not read.  Several things can get me in a mood that I don't want to read anything:

• A Canucks win in the playoffs.  For me that's a strange one due to the fact that I am fairly big Canucks fan, but I suppose the fact that I am in such a good mood and am on Cloud 9 and therefore can't concentrate on reading

• A really bad Canucks loss anytime.  I am so hyper over the fact that they had a bad loss that I can't concentrate properly and am so wrapped up in the emotion that comes with a really bad loss, even if they make it a close game in.  For example, Game 3 in the Western Conference final I got so p---ed off due to some stupid moves by a player on the opposing team.  Even though I didn't exactly watch the game, I got so mad, that my concentration focused on other things and my mind went wacko.  Really bad losses tend to get me in a sour mood and therefore the concentration is broken.

• Focusing on things that I can't control and that I get obsessed about.  Its almost like I go into another zone and my focus is on that particular thing.  Whether it be bad or good, I just get into something and don't want to break away from it and not miss anything.

• When I am in TV series mood.  When I get into this mode, I can't seem to do anything else for that matter.  I even forget about my online life and just concentrate on whatever tv series I am watching at that moment.  Nothing else really matters at the time.

Literary Blog Hop

This week The Blue Bookcase asks:
Tell about one author that you love and why his or her writing is unique. Please be specific.

This is a loaded question, as I could probably tell you why I love reading, but I don't know if I can put the specifics into the answer like some of the other responses that I have read.  But if I have to, I suppose I will give it the old college try.  Here I go...

One author that I love is Jane Austen.  I realize that is a cop-out due to the fact there are a lot of readers who like her and it may sound cheesy, but I really do like her.  One reason that I like her is that for a single woman of her era, she is insightful into human relationships and it seems that her insight is quite good.  She also does it with a humanity that a reader in the 21st century can understand, along with humor and grace that makes her books readable.

I realize that I didn't exactly go into detail and specifics as to why I love Jane Austen, but I tried my best.  Once again, I apologize.

My other passion

As those that read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I have a passion for all things reading and books; it was something that was instilled in me at an early age and something that has carried on for about 30 years.

But there is something else that I am equally passionate about and even though I have only followed them on a regular basis for the past 17 years, they would be considered to be my second passion in life.  They have caused me great consternation at times, but also they have caused great joy and great anticipation.  They have caused me great heartache and made me wonder why I even bother follow them at times and have made me to lose sleep on a number of nights wondering if they will ever live up to my expectations.  Well, not just my expectations, but they are probably largely responsible for my nails never to really grow to a length that I would like (there are other reasons as well too, but they are the main reason).

They are the never ending soap opera at times, especially when things are going really bad and the light at the end of the tunnel seems to never appear.  With a book, I know there will be a beginning, a middle and end.  With this one, I know the beginning, but I don't know where the middle is nor do I know where the end will be and nor do I want to know what the ending will be.  Its a never ending story of sorts.

If you haven't guessed by know, my other passion is a sports team that is 4 wins away from its first league championship.  It has been to the league championship 2 other times, the last one being 17 years ago.  So before I sign off, I will say this:  Go Canucks Go.

WWW… Wednesdays!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll be reading next?


My answers:
1.  What am I currently reading?
Same books as last week.  I have added Twilight's Serenade to the pile, but only in spurts.

 2. What have I recently finished reading?
Nothing.  I haven't gotten anything done for about a month and a half, which coincides with not only the NHL playoffs, but also the fact that I am currently reading multiple books at the moment and trying to finish Outlander.

3.  What do you think you'll reading next?
No clue.