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 (or more) “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 Serpent’s Tale – By Ariana Franklin

Synopsis: (Taken From Amazon)
When Rosamund Clifford, Henry II's mistress, is poisoned, Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar must draw on her formidable forensic skills to try to uncover the killer. The prime suspect is Henry's estranged wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, who once plotted to overthrow the king. Adelia reunites with Rowley Picot, now a bishop as well as the father of Adelia's child, and the two set out on a dangerous journey, during which they brave a blizzard and Eleanor's band of ruthless mercenaries.

Teaser: (I’m giving you two separate passages, because I can’t choose one over the other!)

From the beloved Gyltha, aged nursemaid, completely backwoods and completely lovely:
“Get ‘er used to it,” Gyltha said. “Her’ll see plenty of hangings as she grows. My pa took me to my first ‘un when I were three year old. Enjoyed it too, I did.”
---pg. 238

And from Adelia, the splendid protagonist:
For motherhood, while another joy, had burdened her with a tearing and unexpected anxiety, as if her senses had been transferred into the body of her daughter, and by a lesser extension, into that of all children. Adelia, who’d once considered anyone below the age of reason to be alien and had treated them as such, was now open to their grief, their slightest pain, any unhappiness.
---pg. 86

Note:I am falling in love with the work of Ariana Franklin! I just finished Mistress of the Art of Death, the first in her ‘Adelia’ series, and I happily and anxiously dove into Serpent’s Tale. What a wonderful blend of wonderful things! I could best describe it as a hybrid Medieval-times-meet-CSI: New York-meet-Morgan-Freeman-and-Brad-Pitt-in-Seven-meet-fabulous! Seriously! It’s a forensic science, historical-fiction thriller, no kidding.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas -- may you get everything you wished for. Make the most of the magic!

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eve and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post and feel free to steal the button and link back any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Want to share your loot? Leave a comment on this post and link back to your blog – I would love to check out your shelves!

I made a quick trip to the library today to supplement my stocks for the long holiday. Here’s what I came back with:

Sugar – Bernice McFadden

The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Muriel Barbery

Moloka’i – Alan Brennert

The Given Day – Dennis Lehane

The Red Scarf – Kate Furnivall

Audio Books:
None this go ‘round…

Kids:
1,2 Buckle My Shoe – Jane Cabrera

The Belly Button Fairy – Bobbie Hinman

And it begins....

We had our first big family Christmas get-together with my in-laws over the weekend. The two smarmy adult boys - BD and BDB (BabyDaddyBrother) - in the family have both been called up to work on Christmas Eve, which is a total buzz-killer, and so we gathered up the kin on Saturday night instead. The Muffin was of course primed and in top form, having not had a nap, and so by the time he and my nephew unwrapped their bow and arrow sets, the entire family realized that we were all alarmingly on the wrong side of Indian law. Lucky for us, the Muffin’s aim leaves a bit to be desired, although my dear sister-in-law did take a shot to the forehead. The joys of Christmas, yes? I came out rather well I must admit. My two favorites: a Book Buddy from my mother and father-in-law, and a pair of ridiculously comfy Tempurpedic slippers from my brother and sister-in-law. (In fact, I spent a good deal of the latter half of the evening crammed into a corner of the couch, slipper-clad and with my latest read nestled charmingly into my new Book Buddy. I was very content.) Now, I’m trying to decide if I’m happy or sad that Christmas is only four days away. Not that I don’t love Christmas – I do, that’s the point. It just seems that by the time it gets here, it’s already gone. Most of the excitement for me is in the excitement itself. Once Christmas Day has passed, my outlook feels a little bleaker knowing I don’t have it to look forward to anymore. *Sigh* Ah well, I’m trying to enjoy these last few days. Tomorrow is ‘Bring-your-small-ones-to-work Day’ at my agency, and both the Muffin and I are beyond thrilled! He’ll get to hang out in my office with me, (hopefully being adorably well-behaved), watch movies with the other kids, and even hang out with Santa. Don’t worry, I am packing the portable DVD player, play-doh, and plenty of crayons and coloring books. I’m sure it will be quite interesting – I promise to take lots of pictures!

The Amazing Book Buddy --

I'm forever propping books up on pillows in my lap to read, but they always slide and fall. The solution: book buddies! You slide the front and back covers of your book under the ribbons, (they're adjustable for different sizes, hardback, paperback, etc.) and you're ready to go!

And who can resist Tempurpedic anything? I love that made-just-for-NASA foam stuff!!

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: The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

House of the Temple
8:33 P.M.
The secret is how to die.

Thoughts: Nothing like getting straight to the point eh? Definitely grabs your attention. I’m wondering who’s dying, why they’re dying, and if that tweed jacket-clad Robert Langdon, (the McGuyver of academia), can save them all.

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)The Lost Symbol begins with an ancient ritual, a shadowy enclave, and of course, a secret. Again, brilliant Harvard professor Robert Langdon finds himself in a predicament that requires his vast knowledge of symbology and superior problem-solving skills to save the day. The setting, unlike other Robert Langdon novels, is stateside, and in Brown's hands Washington D.C. is as fascinating as Paris or Vatican City.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eve and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post,), feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Want to share your loot? Leave a comment on this post and link back to your blog – I would love to check out your shelves!

Here is the haul from my last foray to the library:

Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

Love Walked In – Marisa de Los Santos

Mistress of the Art of Death – Ariana Franklin

Sarah’s Quilt – Nancy E. Turner (Sequel to “These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine”)

South of Broad – Pat Conroy

The Castle in the Forest – Normal Mailer

The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown

The Serpent’s Tale – Ariana Franklin (Sequel to “Mistress of the Art of Death”)

The Star Garden -- Nancy E. Turner (3rd in the Sarah Agnes Prine series)

Audio Books:
Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi – Nanci Kincaid

Comfort Food – Kate Jacobs (author of Friday Night Knitting Club)

Kids:
Farmer Joe and the Music Show – Tony Mitton

Splat the Cat – Rob Scotton

Your Own Big Bed – Rita M. Bergstein

The Great Divide – Dayle Ann Dodds

The Wriggly, Wriggly Baby – Jessica Clerk

*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: Catching Fire – By Suzanne Collins

Synopsis: (Taken From Amazon)
Every year in Panem, the dystopic nation that exists where the U.S. used to be, the Capitol holds a televised tournament in which two teen "tributes" from each of the surrounding districts fight a gruesome battle to the death. In the first book in the series, The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from impoverished District Twelve, thwarted the Gamemakers, forcing them to let both teens survive. In this rabidly anticipated sequel, Katniss, again the narrator, returns home to find herself more the center of attention than ever. The sinister President Snow surprises her with a visit, and Katniss’s fear when Snow meets with her alone is both palpable and justified.

Teaser:
“Can you save him?” I ask my mother. She says nothing as she wrings out the cloth and holds it in the air to cool somewhat.
“Don’t worry,” says Haymitch. “Used to be a lot of whippings before Cray. She’s the one we took them to.”
---pg. 112


Note:
I finished The Septembers of Shiraz last night, so the first time I cracked the cover of Catching Fire was just now, to find my teaser. I must tell you, I hands-and-feet-down LOVED The Hunger Games, which was the first book in this series, and I have been on the wait list at my library for this one for weeks and weeks. If this novel comes anywhere close to Hunger Games, I am sure I will be anxiously waiting for the third book, which is due out in August of 2010.

What are you reading? Leave a comment on this post and link back to your blog with a teaser of your own!!!