Friday, July 27, 2012

Book Beginnings on Friday & Wish List Additions

Hosted by Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader
Weekly meme where book bloggers and readers share the
first sentence of the book they are reading say what they think
.


I love this meme. An opening may not make or break a book, but they are important. Especially for someone like me who needs an instant hook or else I might start looking elsewhere.

Bones. Human bones the length of a man's thigh. I stopped short at the sight of more than a dozen of them stacked like cord of firewood just steps in front of me.

I paused to catch my breath before heaving my shoulder against the thick wooden door for the third time. The sturdy threshold, reinforced with rust-covered strips of wrought iron, had withheld assaults by barbarian invaders throughout centures, so I didn't have much hope that it would yield to my slender frame.
I don't know about you, but I'm hooked. Linda Fairstein opens her novel Night Watch with quite a jarring image. 

What book opening caught your eye this week?

I distinguish my To Be Read (TBR) collection from my Wish List--one made up of books I own or have on hand to read, while the other is a list of books I want to read but do not yet have in my possesion.  On Fridays, I offer a sampling of books that have been added to my Wish List. 

Latest Wish List Additions:

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris
recommended by Carrie from Books and Movies


The Memory Of Love by Aminatta Forna
recommended by Wendy from Caribousmom


The Hollow City by Dan Wells
recommended by Suey from It's All About Books


Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier
recommended by Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader


Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
recommended by Lauren from Gimme More Books!!! 
and Kelly from The Written World

The Unfinished Life of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier
recommended by Kathleen Boarding in my Forties


The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams
recommended by Samantha of Booked on a Feeling


Have you read any of those books?  What books have caught your eye recently and made it onto your wish list?
 


© 2012, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

22 comments:

  1. I have several of the same books on my wish list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy - I will never have enough time to read all the books I want to read.

      Delete
  2. Where is she trying to get to? All signs say don't go in. Very good beginning.

    Here's my beginning:
    http://morosebookshelf.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-beginnings-coal-black-horse.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amber - I thought so too. The scene turned out to be rather anticlimactic, but it was a good enough hook to keep me reading--and I did enjoy the book. :-)

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I have not read reviews of any of these except Seraphina, and that one sounds very good to me. I am glad that you posted these here, because now I have a new set of books to look into for my own wish list! Nice picks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather - Seraphina really does sound good. I love the cover too. :-)

      Delete
  4. Yikes! That book sounds like it is going to be intense! Intriguing opening though.

    Here's my Book Beginning:
    http://library1baby.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-beginnings-heaven-is-for-real.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LibraryBaby - It was quite intense! It was a fun read.

      Thank you for visiting!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. JC - It got me curious from the start. :-) Thanks for dropping by!

      Delete
  6. I hope you get a chance to read Bridge of Scarlet Leaves - it really is wonderfully written. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie - I hope so too. It sounds like such a good book! Thank you for recommending it!

      Delete
  7. Your book beginning sounds like an adventurous, personal struggle! Descriptive words!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gemma - The book certainly has those elements! Thanks for dropping in and commenting!

      Delete
  8. What a beautiful selection of books. And yes I will be hooked with an opening paragraph like that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just did a post of several non-fiction books I'd bought recently for my TBR pile :-) I do the same thing you do, separate one I own and want to read (TBR) and my wish-list, books that have caught my eye and I don't own and want to read. My wishlist is big, my TBR pile is big......I really want to read Seraphina, didn't Kelly do a wonderful job talking about it? My library doesn't have it yet, either :-( Interesting list of books you have here,too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan - I've been wanting to do a post about recent additions to my TBR collection. Maybe one of these days. :-) Both my wish list and TBR pile are pretty big too. We'll get through them! Maybe. LOL

      Delete
  10. You are the second blogger today to mention Frenchman's Creek. This is a DuMaurier that I haven't heard about before. I love her work and need to put this on my list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathleen - I hadn't heard of Frenchman's Creek before either. I have yet to read anything by DuMaurier, but I hope to someday change that.

      Delete
  11. I loved The Stranger You Seek and will be reading Bridge of Scarlet Leaves within a couple of months. I hope you enjoy them all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joy - I am so glad to hear you loved The Stranger You Seek! That's one I really must buy soon. I look forward to reading your thoughts on Bridge of Scarlet Leaves.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to visit Musings of a Bookish Kitty. Don't be shy! I would love to hear from you. Due to a recent increase in spam, I will be moderating all comments for the foreseeable future. Please be patient with me as it may take a few hours before I am able to approve your comment.