One Classic Wrinkle

I recently finished A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle (Dell, c1962, 0-440-49805-8). Not for the first time, but the first time in a very long time.

The book, a Newbery Medal winner in 1963, combines both fantasy and science fiction, two genres that as an adult I run from. Yet it still holds the magical appeal and wonder that it did when I read it as a child.

Meg Murry, a young, shy and very aware of her differences kind of girl is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother Charles Wallace and a boy from school, Calvin O'Keefe to rescue her father who is being held captive on the planet of Camozotz by IT. Along the way she makes many self discoveries and finds the strength within to be a hero.

The first sentence is a doozy too:

It was a dark and stormy night.

A recent discussion on a list-serv I belong to revolved around first sentences and this first sentence of course, reminded me of the Bulwer-Lytton contest.

Does anyone know of any other books that start with "It was a dark and stormy night?" that they'd be willing to share with me?

Sex is Complex

In MJ Rose's new book, THE DELILAH COMPLEX (Mira, c2006, ISBN 0-7783-2215-7), Dr. Morgan Snow, sex therapist at the Butterfield Institute in New York, is back in this second book of a series and wrapped up in danger.

This time she is working with a group of women who make up the Scarlet Society, a "socializing" group where the women dominate the men. One male member goes missing and pictures of his lifeless body are mailed to a reporter at the New York Times. Are just the men being targeted or are the women next?

The first sentence?

Warm, engulfing, darkness surrounded him.

This book is a compelling sequel to the first book in the series,THE HALO EFFECT.

Dead to the world

This book, DEAD TO THE WORLD (c2004, ACE, ISBN 0-441-01218-3), by Charlaine Harris, is the fourth book in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series.

The first sentence:

I found the note taped to my door when I got home from work.

I adore these books which is quite ironic because they are more "cozy" than "gritty", and I typically prefer the grime and the grit.

In this book, we are revisited by some oldies but definitely goodies (and I do mean goodies! Woo Hoo!) and introduced to some new supernatural beings as well.

To be honest, her books sat on Mount TBR for the longest time because I had read all of the Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton and I wasn't sure that I would enjoy them as much. I was wrong! (Sorry, Charlaine!)

If you are looking for a fun and refreshing series about people that aren't quite like everyone else around you, check these out!

At least try the first one. They are out of this world!

Answer me this...

My weekend read was THE ANSWER MAN (Bantam, c1999, ISBN 0-553-58191-0) by Roy Johansen. The first sentence:

God, he hated this job.

Ken Parker, a polygrapher in Atlanta, Georgia is a man who's always taken care of everyone. Now, when the rent is due, his car is being repossessed and he has an eviction notice on the door to his business, enters Myth Daniels, attorney-at-law. She offers him $50,000 to teach her client how to beat the polygraph exam. But the price he pays may be more than he bargained for.

A good thriller, fast moving. I preferred his other books better but that's just my opinion and if you read others', there are several who disagree with mine. No matter, he's worth a look.

Humping Horizontal

Well.

The book I read yesterday and finished this morning was a real doozy (just like I promised).

Chelsea Handler, a stand-up comedian and hilarious writer, is the author of the bold and boisterous memoir, MY HORIZONTAL LIFE: A COLLECTION OF ONE-NIGHT STANDS (Bloomsbury USA, c2005, ISBN 1-58234-618-6) about her life as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jewish 20-something looking for sex and lots of it!

The first sentence was a hooker. Well, not a hooker but...I mean, a hook.

I was seven years old when my sister told me she'd give me five dollars to run upstairs into my parents' room while they were having sex and take a picture.

I think I lived with Chelsea in my younger days, but she went by a different name. And religion. And hair color.

Hmmm...

Have a great weekend and I'll see you next week with new books!

You might be a redneck...

Today while I was eating a turkey sandwich at my desk I started thumbing through the book JEFF FOXWORTHY'S REDNECK DICTIONARY: WORDS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW THE MEANING OF (Villard, c2005, ISBN 1-4000-6465-1) and didn't stop until I hit Zz and the word Zany. It was a quick read and a fun lunch time retreat. It didn't have a first sentence unless you count the first sentence in the Preface:

Redneck words.

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to read this book; it's probably reads better if you're not.

I'll post on my current read, probably tomorrow. And hang on to your shorts...it's a doozy!

A dog's life

My latest read was MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE WORLD'S WORST DOG by John Grogan (William Morrow, c2005, ISBN 0-06-081708-9).

"In the summer of 1967, when I was ten years old, my father caved in to my persistent pleas and took me to get my own dog."

The story of the author and his beloved pet, an adorable (in more ways than one) yellow Labrador Retriever along with his wife and children, had me cheering, laughing, snorting and crying, not necessarily all at the same time although the chapter about the gold necklace had me doing just that.

My pup, on the opposite spectrum in size of Marley, has similar antics and devious behaviors that I could so relate to this book. I think any dog owner can relate to something or other on the insides of these covers.

I loved it and urge you all to read it and then do the 'Marley Mambo' in honor of this fun and sunny canine!

I had a vision

Victoria Laurie's Abby Cooper Psychic Eye books were not on a "to-be-read" list of mine. I actually stumbled upon the first one by mistake. But since I am such a fan of Kay Hooper's psychic books, I decided to try the first. And loved it. They are easy read books, cozies if you will (although I'm really not a fan of that word to describe books. I don't know why for sure, I just don't like it.) Then I read the second and this is the third in a fun series with mayhem and madness around every corner.
A plus? Abby has a mini dachshund like my own Snoop. Victoria has mini dachshunds like my own Snoop. With taste like that in dogs, how could I resist?

From her third Abby Cooper book, VISION OF MURDER (c2005, Penguin Group, ISBN 0-451-21715-2):

I consider myself a professional; a psychic intuitive who is proud of how she makes a living; confident that the skills and abilities I innately possess give me a unique advantage to deal with just about any quirky, strange, bizarre or unusual situation that may crop up in my line of work.

Encyclopedia of an ordinary life

I typically read fiction. Lots of it.


The book ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE (Crown Publishing , c2005, ISBN 1-4000-8046-0) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is probably my favorite read this year. (The year is not over yet but up next is some medical thriller that I don't think will be as profound or enlightening.)


And it's not fiction.


It's one woman telling the story of her life through encyclopedia entries and it is wonderful.

I liked the format, the content and the style in which she writes. So many entries resonated loudly within me and my assistant and I chuckled heartily over one part in particular.


The first sentence from the forward:

I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child.

The Colorado Kid

Stephen King's latest book, THE COLORADO KID (Hard Case Crime, c2005, 0-8439-5584-8) has had some tongues wagging in my immediate reading circle of friends. Some people like it, some hate it and with good reason. King himself says in the afterword that this would be the case. I enjoyed it but not as much as some of his other works. I did, however, like the first sentence.

After deciding he would get nothing of interest from the two old men who comprised the entire staff of THE WEEKLY ISLANDER, the feature writer from the Boston Globe took a look at his watch, remarked that he could just make the one-thirty ferry back to the mainland if he hurried, thanked them for their time, dropped some money on the tablecloth, weighted it down with the salt shaker so the stiffish onshore breeze wouldn't blow it away, and hurried down the stone steps from The Grey Gull's patio dining area toward Bay Street and the little town below.

I like a sentence that comes together like that!

I've been sick for the better part of a month but I'm back on an upswing so I'll be back to posting. Please stay tuned...