Three Weeks With My Brother - #TeaserTuesday and First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros

    Nicholas Sparks fans will adore this memoir, and even though he isn't my most favorite author, I enjoyed it a lot. I like the way Sparks wove his life story into the round-the-world trip he took with his brother Micah, relating memories from his past in a natural way as the brothers reminisced. Their humble childhood surprised me.
    Thank you to my new walking-group friend, Donna, for loaning the book to me.

Genre: Memoir
Book Length (Trade paperback): 356 Pages
Amazon Link: Three Weeks With My Brother
Author's Website: Nicholas Sparks

The book begins with a prologue, explaining how Nicholas Sparks and his brother decided to go on the "Heaven and Earth" round-the-world trip to exotic places. I'm sharing the First Paragraph from Chapter 1:
     Many stories begin with a simple lesson learned, and our family's story is no exception. For brevity's sake, I'll summarize.
     In the beginning, we children were conceived. And the lesson learned - at least according to my Catholic mmother - goes like this:
     "Always remember," she told me, "that no matter what the church tells you, the rhythm method doesn't work."

Teaser Tuesday (from Page 148 in the paperback edition):
Because we couldn't afford the sort of treats that other kids seemed to get - cookies, Twinkies, Ho-Hos, etc. - we developed a binge mentality when the opportunity presented itself. If we were visiting someone's house, for instance, we'd devour whatever we could, eating until we felt like we would burst.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
The day the brochure came was a typical one. With a wife and five small children, a hectic schedule, and a new book due to his publishers, Nicholas Sparks was busy with his usual routine. The colorful mailer, however, described something very different: a tour to some of the most exotic places on Earth. Slowly, an idea took hold in Nicholas's mind and heart. In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother, Micah, set off on a three-week trip around the globe. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at thirty-seven and thirty-eight respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family. And as they voyaged to the lost city of Machu Picchu high in the Andes. . . to mysterious Easter Island. . . to Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. . . and across the vast Indian subcontinent, the ultimate story of their lives would unfold. Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world and often overtaken by their feelings, daredevil Micah and the more serious, introspective Nicholas recalled their rambunctious childhood adventures and the tragedies that tested their faith. And in the process, they discovered startling truths about loss, love and hope. Narrated with irrepressible humor and rare candor, and including personal photographs, Three Weeks with my Brother reminds us to embrace life with all its uncertainties. . . and most of all, to cherish the joyful times, both small and momentous, and the wonderful people who make them possible.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Jenn of Books and A Beat. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

Link at Books and A Beat

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

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True Believer - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

    I've read a couple of other books by Nicholas Sparks and enjoyed them, but someone always seems to die in the end! That's not the case with True Believer. 
    I enjoyed this story of a sophisticated city dude and his experiences in small town Boone Creek, North Carolina. The author's descriptions were vivid and the plot kept me engaged. I really didn't know for sure if the hero and heroine would work things out until the last few pages. I especially appreciated the fact that although the Southerners in the book were quirky and I recognized some of them as people I've met, they were not portrayed as ignorant, bigoted, or close-minded stereotypes.

Book Beginning:
    Jeremy Marsh sat with the rest of the live studio audience, feeling unusually conspicuous. He was one of only half a dozen men in attendance on that mid-December afternoon. He'd dressed in black, of course, and with his dark wavy hair, light blue eyes, and fashionable stubble, he looked every bit the New Yorker that he was. 

The Friday 56:
(I know we're supposed to pick an excerpt from Page 56, but this one on Page 54 tickled me so much that I just had to use it instead. New Yorker Jeremy is entering Herbs, a small town cafe, and he's dressed in black from head to toe.)
     As he climbed the steps to the front door, conversations quieted and eyes drifted his way. Only the chewing continued, and Jeremy was reminded of the curious ways cows looked at you when you approached the pasture fence. 

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Suspense
Book Length: 480 Pages
Amazon Link: True Believer

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Jeremy Marsh is the ultimate New Yorker: handsome, almost always dressed in black, and part of the media elite. An expert on debunking the supernatural with a regular column in "Scientific American," he's just made his first appearance on national TV. When he receives a letter from the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, about ghostly lights that appear in a legend-shrouded cemetery, he can't resist driving down to investigate. Here, in this tightly knit community, Lexie Darnell runs the town's library, just as her mother did before the accident that left Lexie an orphan. Disappointed by past relationships, including one that lured her away from home, she is sure of one thing: her future is in Boone Creek, close to her grandmother and all the other people she loves. Jeremy expects to spend a quick week in "the sticks" before speeding back to the city. But from the moment he sets eyes on Lexie, he is intrigued and attracted to this beautiful woman who speaks with a soft drawl and confounding honesty. And Lexie, while hesitating to trust this outsider, finds herself thinking of Jeremy more than she cares to admit. Now, if they are to be together, Jeremy Marsh must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows, or do something he's never done before--take a giant leap of faith. A story about taking chances and following your heart, True Believer will make you, too, believe in the miracle of love.

                 

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