You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Chit Chat About Books
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Currently Reading First Lines
I have just started The Poison Bed
by Elizabeth Fremantle"She was ready when they came, the three men. They smelt of damp wool and resisted staring but stole furtive glances instead. She walked to the door. Her sister sobbed, folding her into a wet embrace, while the nurse, bawling child in her arms, watched with a blunt glare."
Wow - that makes me want to know more, Lisa! Off to gopher the title.
"The second cataclysm began in my eleventh life, in 1996. I was dying my usual death, slipping away in a warm morphine haze, which she interrupted like an ice cube down my spine." - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Lilisa I will be interested to hear your thoughts at the end of that one.
Lisa wrote: "I have just started The Poison Bed by Elizabeth Fremantle"She was ready when they came, the three men. They smelt of damp wool ..."
Lisa, I'm integued! Is that one based on real historical events? So many of hers are. I love all kinds of historical fiction but I do like to know who existed and who didn't ;-)
Margo wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I have just started The Poison Bed by Elizabeth Fremantle"She was ready when they came, the three men. They smelt ..."
Yes, it is based on a real life murder that took place during the reign of King James I. I have heard of this murder before but I don't really know any details. I can't wait to find out what happens!
Both are good first lines!
Lisa wrote: "Margo wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I have just started The Poison Bed by Elizabeth Fremantle"She was ready when they came, the three me..."
Ooh I want it......but i have to read her Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy first.
I've added both to my wishlist.
Lilisa wrote: ""The second cataclysm began in my eleventh life, in 1996. I was dying my usual death, slipping away in a warm morphine haze, which she interrupted like an ice cube down my spine." - [book:The First..."Added it!
Debra wrote: "Lilisa wrote: ""The second cataclysm began in my eleventh life, in 1996. I was dying my usual death, slipping away in a warm morphine haze, which she interrupted like an ice cube down my spine." - ..."About 80 pages in and liking it so far - interesting! I've got a ways to go - it's 400+
I have just started a re-read of The Absolutist
by John Boyne."Seated opposite me in the railway carriage, the elderly lady in the fox-fur shawl was recalling some of the murders that she had committed over the years."
I read this book a few years ago and absolutely loved it, and I decided that now (the time of the Armistice centenary) was as good a time as any for a re-read.
Lisa wrote: "I have just started a re-read of The Absolutist by John Boyne."Seated opposite me in the railway carriage, the elderly lady in the..."
I see this is on my wishlish. Several of my friends have given this 5 stars.
It is in my list too. I should get to it soon.q
Janice and Sandra, it's such a good book! It is written in quite a simple way but it certainly packs an emotional wallop!
What she said!!It is a great start to a great book! You have wonderful taste Lisa :-D
Margo wrote: "What she said!!It is a great start to a great book! You have wonderful taste Lisa :-D"
Thanks, Margo! I try my best 😁😉. I saw you gave it 5 stars too 😃
Of course - my taste is also impeccable 😇
I still need to read it too. I really want to! Let's hope it will fit next year's challenge ;-)
Margo wrote: "Of course - my taste is also impeccable 😇"It is indeed, Margo 🙂
Peggy, hopefully it will work for one of the categories in next years challenge. If not, I guess you will just have to read it anyway 😁
I have just started To the Bright Edge of the World
by Eowyn Ivey"Mr Sloan,
I warned you I am a stubborn old man. These boxes have the papers I told you about, the letters and journals from my great-uncle's expedition across Alaska. I know you said you weren't able to take them on, but I'm sending them anyways. You'll change your mind once you read through all this."
Another brilliant one Lisa! I'd actually forgotten how that started. It sucks you in from the start.
"My strongest memory is not a memory. It’s something I imagined, then came to remember as if it had happened."Educated by Tara Westover
Margo wrote: ""My strongest memory is not a memory. It’s something I imagined, then came to remember as if it had happened." "Interesting first line, Margo. I'm looking forward to your comments about the book when you finish it.
I have just started House of Glass
by Susan Fletcher"My structure is not quite right. By this, I mean my bones - the part on which the rest of me is stretched, stitched into place. I have marrow and cavities; I have the smooth, rounded ends which are cupped by other bones, and no part is missing. But my skeleton is frail. I creak with any transference of weight. In my childhood, I fractured so frequently - with small gestures, with the simple act of looking up - that doctors winced and shook their heads. She is imperfect, they said."
That sounds intriguing, Lisa. I've added it to my wishlist.
I'm just starting The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve."I have to let this story go. It is with me all the time now, a terrible weight."
Because i'm loving the book, thought i'd come and post the first lines from The Fifth Season"Let's start with the end of the world, why don't we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things."
Both your beginnings are intriguing, Cherie and Sarah.
Yes i like Cherie's too. As you say Sandra, both strong first lines.
Sarah wrote: "Because i'm loving the book, thought i'd come and post the first lines from The Fifth Season"Let's start with the end of the world, why don't we? Get it over with and move on to mo..."
Great start for a great book!
I'm loving it Lisa. I know you've read it - have you read the whole series?
Sarah wrote: "I'm loving it Lisa. I know you've read it - have you read the whole series?"I own the second book but I haven't read it yet. I really must try and get to it soon. I can't wait to see what she does with the characters and the world.
I'm currently reading The Shadowy Horses
by Susanna Kearsley"The bus had no business stopping where it did. We should have gone straight on across the Coldingham Moor, with Dunbar to thr back of us and the English border drawing ever nearer, but instead we stopped, and the shaggy-faced cattle that lifted their heads on the far side of the fence appeared to share my surprise when the driver cut the engine to an idle."
I'm enjoying this book very much so far.
Lisa wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I'm loving it Lisa. I know you've read it - have you read the whole series?"I own the second book but I haven't read it yet. I really must try and get to it soon. I can't wait to se..."
Join us in February for the buddy read!
Sarah wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I'm loving it Lisa. I know you've read it - have you read the whole series?"I own the second book but I haven't read it yet. I really must try and get to it soon. I can..."
There is a buddy read in February? I had no idea. I knew you were buddy reading the first one but I must have missed the part about the rest of the series. Thanks for letting me know, Sarah 🙂. I will definitely join in.
We are reading the whole trilogy together. We haven't set up the other threads yet but we're planning book 2 in February and potentially book 3 in April.
I know that this topic is for first lines, but I just finished The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve, and the last line was just as compelling as the first one, I think. "I think about the hurt that stories cannot ease, not with a thousand tellings."
It seems it had both a good first and last line, Cherie.
It did, Sandra. It was a very compelling story.
From Den of Wolves"He's curled in a ball, shivering, under a piercing white moon. He'd forgotten how bright the moon was, how it's light could go right through a man, cold in his bones, searching out what was hidden deep."
Janice wrote: "From Den of Wolves"He's curled in a ball, shivering, under a piercing white moon. He'd forgotten how bright the moon was, how it's light could go right through a man, cold in his ..."
Wow! I guess I better start this series to get to this book!
I've really enjoyed the series, Cherie. I hope she does write more, but until she does, I need to get back to Sevenwaters series.
I'm currently re-reading As Meat Loves Salt
by Maria McCann. It's my favourite book of all time."On the morning we dragged the pond for Patience White, I bent so far down trying to see beneath the surface that my own face peered up at me, twisted and frowning."
I'm also currently reading Child of the Prophecy which I started a while ago but didn't finish. I think I posted the opening lines from it here already though so I won't do it again.
Lisa wrote: "I'm currently re-reading As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann. It's my favourite book of all time."On the morning we dragged t..."
I have to get my hands on As Meat Loves Salt Lisa!
I've already got As Meat Loves Salt on my wishlist. Thanks for the reminder.
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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"My sainted mother taught me the seven acts of corporeal mercy: to feed the hungry; refresh ..."
That is a blunt start to a book, for sure. I'll be interested in your comments when you finish.