Where Is Your bookmark? (01/26/2016)

I am nearly done with my current book, My Sweet Vidalia by Deborah Mantella, which I am reading for an upcoming tour. I hesitate to say how I feel about the book right now. So far it is a rather sad story about an abused mother who has had a very difficult life. It's written from a unique perspective, although the subject matter itself is not all that new.

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon. It is also where I share my first impressions about the book I am sharing.

I thought today I would share the first three paragraphs from the first chapter. There is a prologue, which I am not sharing here.

Fixed between breasts and plumped belly, that tattered apron bound her despite its ties dangling loose by her sides.

Glancing sideways at the crumpled cap and shredded gown, she tsk-tsked. She did what she could to keep from thinking ahead but every now and again, well, my momma-to-be just couldn't help herself. 

In late March but a few months shy of her high school graduation she'd dropped out. This was not unusual for a girl in these parts back then. Truth be told, most folk supposed it peculiar she had made it that far. 

Every Tuesday, Jenn from A Daily Rhythm hosts Teaser Tuesdays at which time participants grab their current read, open to a random page, and share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page while avoiding any spoilers.

Teaser from 11% of My Sweet Vidalia:

Vidalia's phase, Gamma persisted, was just something she needed get through and come back around from. "There ain't no stick big enough to measure what's right or what's wrong for a woman summoned to bury her child," she'd say with certainty.

and at 28%:

Awarded her choice of anything at all on that top shelf, and--even though she would have liked the shiny, new aluminum washboard, as ours was a bit rusted and sorely misshapen having been run over "on accident" by JB's back tires--with her fingers now trembling, she pointed to it. The big book with the hard, shiny cover and the golden trim: The Wonderful World of Insects.

What do you think? Would you keep reading?  

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Broke and Bookish.

This week's  Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie, and so I decided to go with the Top Ten Graphic Novels/Memoirs in My TBR Collection. I do not read many graphic novels or memoirs, admittedly, but occasionally I like to sit down with one and read it. My graphic book preference tends to lean more towards memoirs as you can see. Some of my favorites include Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Maus by Art Spiegalman, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and Blankets by Craig Thompson. I confess some of these have been in my TBR pile for years  and years. Hopefully I will get to them one day soon.

1. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast ~ A graphic memoir about the author's aging parents' final years.

2. Stitches by David Small ~ This is a coming of age story about a young boy with serious health issues and a rather dysfunctional childhood.

3.Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton ~ Described as "an uproarious romp through history and literature . . ."

4. Regards from Serbia: A Cartoonist's Diary of a Crisis in Serbia by Aleksander Zograf ~ The book tells the author's story of living life in a war zone.

5. The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell ~ The story of the author whose research leads her to discover her dad wasn't exactly who he said he was and the fall out it causes for the author and her family afterwards.

6. Palestine by Joe Sacco ~ Laded as graphic journalism at it's finest, this book is based on the author's first hand research of life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990's.

7. The Secret Loves of Geek Girls edited by Hope Nicholson ~ I put in money toward the Kickstarter for this one, something I rarely do, and so am especially excited to read to read it (I just have to wait until the Triple Dog Dare if over). This is a collection of stories and comics about dating, romance and sex told from a variety of artists and authors, including one from Margaret Atwood.

8. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh ~ I wasn't sure this counted as a graphic memoir given how much text is in the book. I'm adding it here anyway. My husband really liked this one and is sure I will too. Having seen some of Allie Brosh's comics about depression, I think I will too.

9. Locas (Love and Rockets) by Jaime Hernández ~ " Locas tells the story of Maggie Chascarrillo, a bisexual, Mexican-American woman attempting to define herself in a community rife with class, race and gender issues." (I don't actually own this one, so not officially a TBR book. It is on my wish list, however.)

 10. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol ~ A ghost story about a teenage girl who befriends a ghost--but then wonders if the ghost has an ulterior motive. (Another one that is on my wish list and not my actual TBR pile. Yet.)

Do you read graphic novels/memoirs? Have you read any of these titles? What are some you liked or  have been wanting to read?

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© 2016, 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.