I'm lovin' it!

Okay, well the last couple of books that I've read have been non-fiction, not mysteries which is why I've been so late in posting. But, I did just finish the book,DON'T EAT THIS BOOK: FAST FOOD AND THE SUPERSIZING OF AMERICA by Morgan Spurlock which is a very scary look into the fast food industry, slaughterhouse practices, and a bunch of other really disgusting things that sums up to this mystery: Why do people still eat this stuff? The first sentence?

Don't do it.

Then, today, while reading some of my online "journals" I came across this picture that I wanted to share:

It comes from this blog and I wish I had an artsy-fartsy patron who'd make one for me. Maybe I'll print the picture off, hang it up and beg.

Anyone who works in a library can appreciate it, I'm sure.

I did.

Hackers abound!

My lastest read, THE BLUE NOWHERE, by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster, c2001, ISBN 0-684-87127-0), is the book featured today.

It is a chilling work of fiction (?) related to hackers, crackers, phreaks and all of the scary things that people can access and do with a computer related to YOU!

This book was recommended to me by a library patron and although I've read all of Deaver's Lincoln Rhymes' books, I remember when this one came out that I had too much to read and reading about computers just didn't interest me at the time.

I'm glad it was recommended. What a very, scary (in a realistic way) book. It really made me want to think twice about what I do on my computer and more fearful of what these computer geniuses can make appear as things I might be doing on a computer. Be afraid, be very afraid! This book is fabulous storytelling!

The battered white van had made her uneasy.

AI

I am a big fan of AMERICAN IDOL and I've watched every season since the Kelly Clarkson phenom, picking the winners year after year. So, it didn't surprise me at all that the title and then subject of this book caught my interest.
From Alesia Holliday's debut, AMERICAN IDLE(Dorchester Publishing Co., ISBN 0-505-52654-9):

It doesn't matter who wins.

Not a great sentence, but a pretty fun romp. Kinda trashy in a fun, girly-giggle sort of way. Don't expect me to read alot of these, though.

Creepers is a keeper

I recently finished the book, CREEPERS (CDS Books, ISBN:159315237X)
by David Morrell, a won ARC copy from here. I looove to win books.The first sentence?

Creepers.

Pbblttth! (I always like to see how other people try to spell the sound of a mouth raspberry.) That's a stinky first sentence!

However, the topic of the book was amazing! Wonderful! It interested me in a subject like no other books have in quite awhile. What you may ask, has me so excited?

Asbury Park, New Jersey, a once thriving community turned ghost town, and Urban Exploration! Two, count 'em two, very interesting concepts and although I didn't care for the first sentence, CREEPERS is a keeper. I'm glad my copy is autographed!

Confession Obsession

Well, I'm not really obsessed but I liked the rhyming scheme to it.

My book choice for today was a fun read from last month. It wasn't a book I would typically pick up, let alone read, but it sounded like fun in a review that I read, and it was. Melanie even sent me a magnet to add to my collection on my filing cabinet at the library. From CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM (Dutton, ISBN 0-525-94910-0) by Melanie Lynne Hauser:

Every superhero has an origin.

It had been a strange month because I read both this and CARPE DEMON (Berkley Books, ISBN 0-425-20252-6) by Julie Kenner. Both books were much lighter fare from my typical reading agenda, but I enjoyed them both.

Fear not, everything I've read this month has been much darker and grittier. So far...

It said What?!?

This is a great example of how a first sentence can completely affect the read of a book. The author, Robert Tanenbaum, who I regularly recommend to my patrons looking for something in the vein of John Grisham is the author featured.

A patron returning Grisham's latest, asked for something similar since she had read all of his books. I recommended several authors, including Tanenbaum, noting his books are a series. She picked several paperbacks off the shelf, read the backs and came to the counter with two. The same afternoon she returned the book, told me that the book disgusted her and asked why I would recommend such an author. I was genuinely surprised. The author typically writes suspenseful courtroom/legal dramas and I've never had any complaints before. I opened up the book to the first sentence of the book, FALSELY ACCUSED:

With a wet and embarrassing sound, a sound like no other, a human brain came loose from its skull and, dripping thick, clotted blood and fluid, hung suspended in the hands of the chief medical examiner of the City of New York.

What!?! Oh my goodness...

I was truly stunned. I expect this type of writing from Bentley Little or maybe Muriel Gray but Tanenbaum?

Oy Vey! Uff da! And all that!

I love a debut

I adore debut novels. Some of my all time favorite reads have been debuts. I typically continue to read the author if I enjoy their first book. Sometimes I am pleased, other times I'm disappointed but to be fair I return again, always remembering how much I enjoyed that first wonderful book.

The book I'm currently reading is turning out to be a great read as well.
From IMMORAL, a debut by Brian Freeman:

Darkness was a different thing in the north woods than it was in the city.

I have also come to love blogs. I wasn't sure at the beginning, but having my own had made me really appreciate those that do it and do it well.

I have included the blogs that I read regularly on the right-hand side under the archived posts. Take a look. You might find something fun.

Beginner's Luck

I actually searched through books looking for a first sentence to go along with a link I wanted to share. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but the following sentence could certainly apply.

From Laura Pedersen's novel, BEGINNER'S LUCK:

Was there ever a single moment about which you later wondered, "What would my life be like now if that hadn't happened?"

Who hasn't?

Salsa, anyone?

I have come to discover that although the books that I call my "favorites" are not necessarily campy or character-driven, the first sentences that make me giggle are.

Today's first sentence comes from a book that we have pulled from the stacks and put out on display to get some notice. No one has checked it out since July of 2003 and if it doesn't move soon, it will be weeded. (See my post on weeding!)

From MURDER UNDER BLUE SKIES by Willard Scott with Bill Crider:

Everything was going wonderfully well at the gala grand opening of the Blue Skies Bed & Breakfast Inn, right up until the moment Belinda Grimsby collapsed facedown into a bowl of homemade salsa.

I hope she wasn't wearing white! My luck always dictates that I'm wearing white whenever we eat Mexican food. Pollo Fundido is my favorite.

Starlight, starbright

I wish I could say that I am enthused right now about writing in this blog but I can't. I have a trapezius muscle that is completely seized and the other is following. I've been in a lot of pain, but life must go on, right? I was sent an e-mail from a reader who suggested this title's first sentence. Thanks to Carol.

Today's first sentence comes from Sena Jeter Naslund's book, AHAB'S WIFE, or THE STARGAZER: A NOVEL:

Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last.

I've not read this book yet, but I shall. Eventually.

I am currently engrossed in TO THE POWER OF THREE by Laura Lippman.