Teaser Tuesdays - A Favourite Author

On the night of my thirteenth birthday, I made an announcement.
'I am never getting married and I am never having children.' (p.1)

The teaser lines today are the first two from the new novel 'Leaving the World' by one of my favourite authors Douglas Kennedy. When one of my friends asked a couple of weeks ago if I would like a copy as he'd seen it going cheap in the city I said "Yes please!"

Since reading 'The Pursuit of Happiness' back in 2001 I've pretty much read every other novel he has written. Some are gripping, thrilling and are great page turners. The last couple however I've found to be a little strange, they start out really good, with all of Kennedy's trademarks, but then they turn, become a bit too fantastical. There's something about them though that I still enjoy, so when a new novel turns up, I go out and get it and start reading it with a good sense of expectation. Hopefully this new one will be another gripping ride.

As for last week's book 'I heart New York' by Lindsey Kelk, I have to say I enjoyed it. At times it got a little tedious/predictable (like most chick lit books do), but for the most part it was a really fun read with little twists here and there to keep you guessing. It helped too that she evoked the city really well, and also mentioned one of my favourite works of art to boot. If you're looking for something light and fun to read, then this one fits the bill.

Teaser Tuesdays - Some Chick Lit.

Her perfect wedding outfit was carefully folded over the back of a chair and I hesitated for a moment before looking down at what she was wearing instead. It's a bit weird to see your mum wearing an old Blondie T-shirt and a pair of your boyfriend's boxers. (p.12).

I've started a new book today, 'I heart New York' by Lindsey Kelk. I've got a nice pile of books to choose from at the moment, but I can't seem to bring myself to read anything other than fluff, hence the chick lit. At least it's set in my favourite city!! Judging by the first twelve pages I think I should enjoy it, I'll let you know how it goes. What are you reading today?

Teaser Tuesdays.

Yesterday I was having a bit of a look through some of the Blogtoberfest participant's webpages and came across the bookend. She mentions finding this meme by MizB from Should Be Reading where you open up a random page of the book you're reading and share a two sentence teaser from the page. So here goes;

My teaser comes from 'Three to Get Deadly' by Janet Evanovich;

He made polite conversation with my mother and grandmother and discussed sports scores with my father. On the surface Morelli seemed relaxed and smiling, but there were unguarded moments when I caught him watching me with the offhand intensity of a tree toad eyeing a tasty insect. (p.106)

This book is the third in a series of fifteen, at last count, about Stephanie Plum who ends up working for her cousin as a bounty hunter. It's been a long while since I've found any books that make me laugh out loud but these ones do the trick. Stephanie comes out with some fantastic observations, like the one in the quote, and her grandmother is a great source of amusement.

If you haven't tried any of these books and you like a bit of a mystery as well as a laugh, then I definitely recommend giving them a try. Let me know how you go.

PURPLE...#6

If ever I want to watch a good movie to have a laugh and a really good cry then 'The Color Purple' works a treat. I remember watching it not long after it was released and really loved Whoopi Goldberg and especially Oprah, I was so impressed with her acting skill. It's such a fantastic story that I've always meant to read the book but have never gotten around to it, maybe I should. I guess I have the idea in the back of my mind that my having seen the movie first would taint the reading of it.

There's one line that my husband and I like to quote from it every now and then too and it's.... 'I's married now!' Cracks us up every time.

I need all the help I can get!

Just lately I've been feeling like I'm lacking in the 'engaging the toddler in interesting activities' area, so I did what I always do and went out and bought a couple of books to try and spur me on. Don't get me wrong, I'm not totally inept we do have a couple of regular activities that we go to once a week but I've been finding that when we are at home I've been resorting to the wonderful ABC kids and DVDs a little too much. Plus, he's a boy and jumping on the couch is much more appealing than sitting on the floor and playing with building blocks with Mum apparently. One thing I am really looking forward too though is the Wiggles concert that we'll be going to in December, I am so excited about it, it's not funny! Hopefully Mr Lukey Dukey will enjoy it as much as I know I will.

This Is...My favourite children's book

At the moment my favourite children's book is 'The Escape of Marvin the Ape' by Caralyn and Mark Buehner. Discovered by chance this book has become a fave as the story is engaging, it's set in New York (my favourite place) and it has the additional bonus of getting you to spot the black cat and the ostrich in each of the pictures.....plus my son really enjoys it too!

I've also been trying to think of my favourite book from my own childhood and couldn't pin it down to just one. Enid Blyton comes to mind as a constant source of good reads, I was always dipping into her world with the Magic Faraway Tree and the Famous Five, etc. Actually I'm looking forward to my son getting a bit older so that we can visit them all again together.

Thanks again to Three Buttons for This Is and thanks to Potty Mouth Mama for this weeks topic.