The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge
The Sacred Romance
All New People
All New People by Anne Lamott
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next series #2)
Lost In A Good Book by Jasper Fforde
The House at the Edge of Night
The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner
Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Friday Book Beginnings
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Nemesis
Nemesis by Agatha Christie
Friday Book Beginnings
Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. If you want to participate, visit her site here to see how it's done. She asks that we "share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week, or just a book that caught your fancy and you want to highlight.”
My current read is The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner. It begins like this...
" Once the whole of the island of Castellamare was plagued by a curse of weeping. It came from the cave by the sea, and because the islanders had built their houses from that rock, which had been the liquid fire of the volcano itself, very soon the weeping rang in all the walls of the buildings, it resounded along the streets, and even the arched entrance of the town wailed at night like an abandoned bride."
It sounds creepier than it is. This is the first line of the prologue and isn't the main story line, just a bit of background that comes up now and then.
Be sure to visit Rose City Reader to check out some of the other Book Beginnings.
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
The Philosophy Book and Sister Carrie
The Philosophy Book by Otto Bohmer
Carrie, 18, looks for work in Chicago where the jobs available to her pay so little that she remains dependent upon her sister's charity until she meets Drouet, who charms her into letting him support her in style. She doesn't love him, but he offers an alternative to poverty and as his mistress she quickly learns to appreciate the comfort and personal luxuries money can buy.
Letters Across the Sea
Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham
A Magical New York Christmas and Christmas By The Book
A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes
If there are a few too many happy co-incidences and if it all leads to the predictable happy ending for everybody, the story is solid enough to make up for it and, anyway, a certain amount of sentimentality is expected and acceptable in Christmas fiction. The writing may have a few weak moments but overall it's quite well written and it was a pleasure to read.
It was much better than I went into it expecting, and I have to say that of the new Christmas stories I read this year, this one had the best plot and enough of Christmas in it to be a satisfying holiday read. It has earned a place on my shelf and will be read again.
Christmas Reading
What a strange Christmas this has been for us. Dec 13th I came down with some random virus (not the flu, not covid) and am just now starting to feel like myself again. I was contagious so everyone had to stay away and I missed all the usual gatherings and celebrations. When I look back at it now, it's a just blur of shivering under a pile of quilts, coughing and sneezing, eating popscicles that all tasted like cough drops, and basically just trying to breathe. I wasn't able to read much because one of this particular virus' gifts was conjuctivitis in both eyes, but I did listen to a few audio books to pass time and stay relatively sane. Unfortunately I was in such a fog when I listened to them that I remember little about them now, but they served their purpose in helping me get through a trying time.
Meet Me in London and Lost December
Meet Me in London by Georgia Toffolo