Ummm?

Yesterday, my son wore underwear on his head for two hours. He would scream hysterically if you got near him and he thought you were going to take them off. Actually, according to him,

“Dey not no unner-wears Momma, dey is my ‘Piderman mask!”

So, apparently, now we have a revolving cast of super heroes. Last week was Batman, this week a Fruit-of-the-Loom sporting Spiderman. I ADORE the imagination of a kid! (And at least the underwear were clean…)

Friday Firsts

The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? Participating in this weekly book meme is extremely easy, so bring it on! (And don’t forget to link back to Well-Read Reviews!)

*Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
*Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph.

*Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using.) Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?

*Link back to Well-Read Reviews in your blog entry.

Share your Friday Firsts here! Leave a comment – if you don’t have a blog, just share your book’s title, author, and first sentence. If you do, don’t forget to link back so I can visit!

My Friday Firsts is from: White is For Witching, by Helen Oyeyemi

Miranda Silver is in Dover, in the ground beneath her mother’s house.
Her throat is blocked with a slice of apple
(to stop her from speaking words that may betray her)
Her ears are filled with earth
(to keep her from hearing sounds that confuse her)
Her eyes are closed, but
Her heart thrums like hummingbird wings.

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)This novel weaves a tale of four generations of women and the house in Dover, England, they’ve inhabited—a vengeful, Gothic edifice that has always rejected strangers. The latest occupants are twins Miranda and Eliot, who were 16 when their mother, Lily, died and when their father, Luc, converted the house into a B&B. Miranda’s grief is “far far bigger than her.” She develops pica, an eating disorder, eschewing her father’s cooking and binging on hidden caches of chalk and plastic. After Miranda is discharged from a clinic, Eliot grapples with his brotherly responsibilities, telling Lily’s ghost, “She won’t forget or recover, she is inconsolable.” Lily’s mentally ill mother and grandmother still “inhabit” the house—each understanding that “we absolutely cannot have anyone else.” Oyeyemi’s style is as engimatic as her plot, with juxtaposition of past and present and abrupt changes in narrator, from third to first person, Eliot to Miranda, Lily to her mother. In all, a challenging read laced with thought-provoking story lines that end, like Miranda’s fate, mysteriously.


Thoughts: Sorry, I know I totally gave you more than one sentence. But I had to share this first section. Just the set-up and punctuation grabbed me at first, but then I got sucked in with the text. I’ll tell you, it’s certainly not a “breeze-read”, but I’m quite engaged in the story already. I’m wondering, is the girl dead? But no, it says that her heart is still beating. Is she trapped? Hmmm, a possibility. Guess I’ll have to read further to find out!

Teaser Tuesdays!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. You can play too! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read.

*Open to a random page.

*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. --BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!-- (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser is From: The Handmaid’s Tale – By Margaret Atwood

Synopsis: (Taken From Amazon)
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....

Teaser:

When there’s someone hanging on the wall, at least you know the worst. But vacant, it is also potential, like a storm approaching. When I can see the bodies, the actual bodies, when I can guess from the sizes and shapes that none of them is Luke, I can believe also that he is still alive.

Today I found out.....

...that Batman lives at my house. :)

Because it's all about.....

....starting the day off right. Happy Friday everyone!

My Favorite Things!

It's been a while since the last time I posted a "My Favorite Things" list, and I'd say we're well overdue. For a little intro, the past week has been a blur (a good blur mind you), so that explains why you've had a Meg-free seven days. The Muffin turned three - we won't talk about it a lot, lest I tear up AGAIN -- and we had a wonderful party with family and friends, but it pretty much had my panties in a twist for most of last week. Ya'll know how I stress about things now... However, it ended up being a weekend of good fun and lots of laughs, (thanks a lot to an impromptu sleep-over with several of the party guests and a good deal of great wine). Since I'm now thoroughly encased in my annual winter rut (no more holidays, birthdays, or parties to look forward to for a while), I thought I would think back over some of my most recent "favorite things":

A handmade birthday card from my Nanny to the Muffin

The Muffin's planet night-light. This was an el-cheapo $5 Wal-Mart purchase, but we have had so much fun laying in bed and looking at our 'universe' each night!

Foam Pits -- After the Muffin's bday swaree' at the Gymnastics gym, I have decided that I want to rip up my living room floor and install one of these babies.

Denman's 3-Row Styling Comb - my very dear, (and uber stylish) friend Laura introduced me to this little marvel while visiting for the Muffin's bday. Of course, the bane of all television news personalities is flat hair, so Laura - being our home-town celebrity and all - uses it to always look fab on the air. I was amazed after a quick back-comb from this baby, I had 'Bump-It' worthy hair all afternoon without the Bump-It! (The comb is a mere $2.99 at Sally's Beauty Supply, compared to $9.99 for the Bump-It.)

Coffee Mug I made at Polka Dot Pots with the Muffin and BD. I drink out of it every day at work!

Friday Firsts

The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? Participating in this weekly book meme is extremely easy, so bring it on! (And don’t forget to link back to Well-Read Reviews!)

*Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
*Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph.
*Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using.) Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?
*Link back to Well-Read Reviews in your blog entry.

Share your Friday Firsts here! Leave a comment – if you don’t have a blog, just share your book’s title, author, and first sentence. If you do, don’t forget to link back so I can visit!

My Friday Firsts is from: Moloka’i, by Alan Brennert

Later, when memory was all she had to sustain her, she would come to cherish it: Old Honolulu as it was then, as it would never be again.

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

This richly imagined novel, set in Hawaii more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning. With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka'i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death.

Thoughts: Magic. And romance. What else could there be in “Old Honolulu”? Plus, I love ‘saga’ and generational type stories because you get to see the whole scope of a character. And that is what sounds like this book will be!

Teaser Tuesdays!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. You can play too! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read.

*Open to a random page.

*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. --BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!-- (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

If you have a teaser on this lovely Tuesday, leave a comment on this post with your link!

My Teaser is From: The Red Scarf – By Kate Furnivall

Synopsis: (Taken From Amazon)
Davinsky Labor Camp, Siberia, 1933: Only two things in this wretched place keep Sofia from giving up hope: the prospect of freedom, and the stories told by her friend and fellow prisoner Anna, of a charmed childhood in Petrograd, and her fervent girlhood love for a passionate revolutionary named Vasily. After a perilous escape, Sofia endures months of desolation and hardship. But, clinging to a promise she made to Anna, she subsists on the belief that someday she will track down Vasily. In a remote village, she’s nursed back to health by a Gypsy family, and there she finds more than refuge—she also finds Mikhail Pashin, who, her heart tells her, is Vasily in disguise. He’s everything she has ever wanted—but he belongs to Anna.

Teaser:
She was lying on the bedboard, her breath fast and shallow, her skin splitting wherever it was touched. She felt that she had already sunk beyond reach. She hadn’t worked for days and in this camp if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat.
---Pg. 19