Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel Marie Phillips (author’s blog) Back Bay Books, 2008 (paperback) (ISBN 0316067636 / 9780316067638) Fiction, 320 pages First Sentence: One morning, when Artemis was out walking the dogs, she saw a tree where no tree should be. Book description: Being immortal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Life’s hard for a Greek god in the 21st century: nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn’t respect you, […]
The Uncommon Reader: A NovellaAlan BennettPicador, 2008 (Paperback) (ISBN 0312427646 / 9780312427641)Fiction, 128 pages First sentence: At Windsor it was the evening of the state banquet and as the president of France took his place beside Her Majesty, the royal family formed up behind and the procession slowly moved off and through into the Waterloo Chamber. Book description: When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to […]
ShapeShifter : The Demo Tapes — Year 1 Susan Helene Gottfried Lulu.com, Paperback (ISBN 0557023440 / 9780557023448) Fiction, 132 pages Book description (from back cover): A band’s demo tape is intended to introduce listeners to their music. Likewise, this collection of short pieces allows readers into the fictional world of Trevor Wolff and his band, ShapeShifter. Originally published online between April 2006 and March 2007, The Demo Tapes — Year 1 brings together the moments […]
Thanks to Anna Jarzab of Authors on the Web for providing an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book! It’s now available in bookstores. True Colors: A Novel Kristin Hannah St. Martin’s Press, 2009 (hardcover) (ISBN 0312364105 / 9780312364106) Fiction, 400 pages First sentence: Fifteen-year-old Winona Grey stared out at the waterfront ranch that had been in her family for four generations, looking for something that had changed. Book description (summarized): The Grey sisters have […]
Change of Heart: A Novel Jodi Picoult Washington Square Press, 2008 (Paperback) (ISBN 0743496752 / 9780743496759) Fiction, 480 pages First Sentence: In the beginning, I believed in second chances. Book description: One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time […]
I don’t really think of myself as an interventionist. I might not always agree with what you do, and I might question you about it. I might express that disagreement to you, and chances are that I may talk about it with mutual friends as well. But unless it’s something truly dangerous to your well-being, I’m probably not going to get in your way of doing it. Despite my misgivings, I will generally give you […]
History Lesson for Girls: A Novel Aurelie Sheehan Penguin, 2007 (paperback) (ISBN 0143111906 / 9780143111900) Fiction, 368 pages First sentence: One day I saw them, our dream horses, and on that day I pulled over to the side of the road and cried. Book description (summarized): Alison suffers from scoliosis. Her bent spine is not only a physical defect but also a social stigma isolating her from other teenagers and even distancing her from her […]
My Book Talk Master List, which is always linked in my sidebar, contains links to all the posts where I have reviewed books, and has been updated for 2008 year-to-date. Strictly from a number-crunching perspective, 35 books works out to about 1.5 weeks per book or 0.6 books per week, which is probably not bad generally, but for someone who counts herself as a member of the book-blogging community, it’s just sad. If I were […]
Who By Fire Diana Spechler Harper Perennial, 2008 (paperback) (ISBN 0061572934 / 9780061572937) Fiction, 368 pages First sentence: At the back of the plane, twelve men bow and mumble and sway, masked by thick beards and crowned by black hats. Book Description (summarized): When Bits and Ash were children, their younger sister was kidnapped, a tragedy that led to their family’s unraveling. Years later, Ash, who always blamed himself for Alena’s disappearance, abruptly moved to […]
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels Jasper Fforde 2008, Penguin (paperback) (ISBN 0143113569 / 9780143113560) Fiction, 384 pages First sentence(s): The Swindon I knew in 2002 had a lot going for it. (Chapter 1 prologue) The dangerously high level of the stupidity surplus was once again the lead story in The Owl that morning. (Chapter 1 proper) Book Description: It is fourteen years since Thursday Next pegged out at the 1988 SuperHoop, and the Special Operations […]
Thanks to Tracee Gleichner at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the opportunity to read and review this book! A Jolly Good Fellow Stephen V. Masse Good Harbor Press, 2007 (paperback) (ISBN 097996380X / 9780979963803) Fiction, 220 pages First sentence: He’s out there hitchhiking. Book description: Two weeks before Christmas, Duncan Wagner gets into his car for another attempt at kidnapping the son of his most despised enemy, State Representative Win Booker. When he drives […]
(Disclaimer: Thanks to Trish Collins of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book, and to the author for providing a signed copy!) Somebody Else’s Daughter Elizabeth Brundage Viking, 2008 (Hardcover) (ISBN 0670019003 / 9780670019007) Fiction, 352 pages First Sentence: We left San Francisco that morning even though your mother was sick. (Read an excerpt from the book’s prologue.) Book Description (summary): In the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts a group of […]
