The Rosie Project - First Chapter / First Paragraph and Teaser Tuesday

I've been removing books from my Kindle that I probably won't reread and leaving those that I enjoyed enough to read again. The Rosie Project gets to stay. It's a fascinating look inside the mind of a man who has Asperger syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder), told with humor, warmth, and great insight as he searches for a wife. If you like Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory" (but with more heart), you'll like Don Tillman from The Rosie Project even more.

First Paragraphs:
I may have found a solution to the Wife Problem. As with so many scientific breakthroughs, the answer was obvious in retrospect. But had it not been for a series of unscheduled events, it is unlikely I would have discovered it.
      The sequence was initiated by Gene's insisting I give a lecture on Asperger's syndrome that he had previously agreed to deliver himself. The timing was extremely annoying. The preparation could be time-shared with lunch consumption, but on the designated evening I had scheduled ninety-four minutes to clean my bathroom. I was faced with a choice of three options, none of them satisfactory.

Teaser Tuesday excerpt (at 6% on my Kindle) - (Don decides how to screen women who he might possibly want for a wife.)
A questionnaire! Such an obvious solution. A purpose-built, scientifically valid instrument incorporating current best practice to filter out the time wasters, the disorganized, the ice-cream discriminators, the visual-harrassment complainers, the crystal gazers, the horoscope readers, the fashion obsessives, the religious fanatics, the vegans, the sports watchers, the creationists, the smokers, the scientifically illiterate, the homeopaths, leaving, ideally, the perfect partner or, realistically, a manageable short list of candidates.

Genre: Humor & Satire
Book Length: 305 Pages
Amazon Link: The Rosie Project
Sequel: The Rosie Effect

Synopsis:
      An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.
      Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.
      Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.
      The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!
Link at ADailyRhythm.com

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

Beautiful Ruins - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

Why was I drawn to Beautiful Ruins? Because my husband and I visited the Cinque Terre (Italy) where the story is set. But the author's writing is what kept me reading. I'll admit that the many different characters, plots, and periods of time sometimes confused me, but the characters are interesting and so are their stories. I haven't quite finished the book yet, so I'm hoping they all come together in the end. (See my "Saturday Snapshot" photos from our Cinque Terre trip HERE, if you're curious.)

Book Beginning:
The Dying Actress
April 1962
Porto Vergogna, Italy
      The dying actress arrived in his village the only way one could come directly--in a boat that motored into the cove, lurched past the rock jetty, and bumped against the end of the pier. She wavered a moment in the boat's stern, then extended a slender hand to grip the mahogany railing; with the other, she pressed a wide-brimmed hat against her head. All around her, shards of sunlight broke on the flickering waves. 

The Friday 56 (from Page 56 - trade paperback):
     "When I found out how bad it was ... I decided that from now on I was just going to say what I think, that I would stop worrying about being polite or imagining what people thought of me. That's a big deal for an actress, refusing to live in the eyes of others. It's nearly impossible."

Genre: Fiction & Literature
Length: 337 Pages (Trade paperback)
Amazon Link: Beautiful Ruins
More Books by This Author: Jess Walter's Website

Blurb:
      The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.
      And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.
      What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. 
     Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

                           

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and The Friday 56. 

   Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reader)

   Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Murder on Astor Place - The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings on Friday

I enjoy a variety of genres--romance, mystery, women's fiction, and anything else that catches my fancy. Recently, I read MURDER ON ASTOR PLACE, the first novel in the 15-book Gaslight Mystery series. The story features midwife Sarah Brandt and police detective Frank Malloy, and it's set in turn-of-the-century New York City. Author Victoria Thompson's description of the tenements, mansions, police station, streets, and sounds and smells of the city are vivid. I also enjoyed her portrayal of the lifestyles of the upper and lower classes of society. Most importantly, the plot kept me reading. 

I'll definitely be reading more of the books in this series!

BOOK BEGINNING:
At first Sarah thought the tinkling of the bell was part of her dream. It sounded so sweet and soothing, and she was following it across a sunlit meadow, as if it were a golden butterfly. But then the pounding started, and she knew this wasn't a dream at all.

THE FRIDAY 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
"It wouldn't be the first time a reluctant woman has been persuaded to marry a man she wouldn't otherwise choose. He ruins her and makes her believe no other man will ever have her. And if she conceives a child, she has no choice but to accept him."

Genre: Historical Mystery
Length: 287 Pages
Amazon Link: Murder on Astor Place
Author Website:  Victoria Thompson

Goodreads Synopsis:
As a midwife in turn-of-the-century New York, Sarah Brandt has seen pain and joy. Now she will work for something more--a search for justice--in a case of murder involving one of New York's richest families.                                               
                                              ********

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and 

The Friday 56. 

   Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings on Friday posts  

   (sponsored by Rose City Reader)

   Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (sponsored by Freda's Voice) 

                           

Sinful Folk Revisited - Teaser Tuesday

Does this striking cover look familiar? Maybe that's because several months ago I featured SINFUL FOLK in a Teaser Tuesday post (here). Since then, the author has contacted me and offered to 

GIVE AWAY THREE COPIES!! 

of this excellent book - one paperback, one audiobook, and one ebook. So I'm featuring SINFUL FOLK again with a giveaway, along with another Teaser. 

To enter to win a copy of this extraordinary book, please include your email address and preferred book format in your comment below.


TEASER:
There are some who believe to speak of a thing is to summon it into the world, and Tom speaks with such conviction. We become so quiet that the loudest noise is the sizzle of burning tree sap.
(From 10% on my Kindle.)

Genre: Mystery / Historical
Number of Pages: 362 Pages
Amazon Link: Sinful Folk

Synopsis from Amazon:
      A tragic loss. A desperate journey. A mother seeks the truth.
In December of 1377, four children were burned to death in a house fire. Villagers traveled hundreds of miles across England to demand justice for their children's deaths.
     Sinful Folk is the story of this terrible mid-winter journey as seen by Mear, a former nun who has lived for a decade disguised as a mute man, raising her son quietly in this isolated village. For years, she has concealed herself and all her history. But on this journey, she will find the strength to redeem the promise of her past. Mear begins her journey in terror and heartache, and ends in triumph and transcendence.
     The remarkable new novel by Ned Hayes, illustrated by New York Times bestselling author / illustrator Nikki McClure, Sinful Folk illuminates the medieval era with profound insight and compassion.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! 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 and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.

Sinful Folk - Teaser Tuesday

Ever since studying Canterbury Tales in school, I've been curious about life in the Middle Ages. In Sinful Folk, the author gives us a glimpse into that era through the eyes of a woman. Although at first I wasn't sure whether or not I would enjoy the book, I soon became caught up in the plot and couldn't put it down. It's a quest and a mystery, as well as a story about a mother's love. I'm not quite finished, but I can tell you that the scenes describing that bitterly cold winter have renewed my appreciation for Gore-Tex and thermal underwear!

Teaser (from 8% on my Kindle):
There is a stab of pain in my side. My limbs are weak as water, for I have not been able to eat much this winter with no food in the larders or the mill. And now my feet and toes feel each lump of frozen mud.

Genre: Mystery / Historical
Number of Pages: 362 Pages
Amazon Link: Sinful Folk

Synopsis from Amazon:
A tragic loss. A desperate journey. A mother seeks the truth.
In December of 1377, four children were burned to death in a house fire. Villagers traveled hundreds of miles across England to demand justice for their children's deaths.
 
Sinful Folk is the story of this terrible mid-winter journey as seen by Mear, a former nun who has lived for a decade disguised as a mute man, raising her son quietly in this isolated village. For years, she has concealed herself and all her history. But on this journey, she will find the strength to redeem the promise of her past. Mear begins her journey in terror and heartache, and ends in triumph and transcendence.
 
The remarkable new novel by Ned Hayes, illustrated by New York Times bestselling author / illustrator Nikki McClure, Sinful Folk illuminates the medieval era with profound insight and compassion.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! 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 and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.

Teaser Tuesday: Keepsake

I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. Sunday, reading KEEPSAKE. In this engrossing novel, Author Kristina Riggle enters the world of a hoarder, delving into the mindset of a woman who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and exploring the effects it has on family. Having cringed at several episodes of the TV series "Buried Alive," I've been curious about what could cause a person to hoard, and this book gave me some insight while weaving a compelling plot. The downside is that I'm starting to worry about my fabric stash! I call myself a quilter, but could I be a fabric hoarder myself?


My Teaser:
Yet here she was, this tiny black woman with a huge messenger bag, holding out a business card with the words Child Protective Services as if my child needed protecting. From me.
(From 1% on my Kindle)

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction
Number of Pages: 384
Amazon Link: KEEPSAKE

Goodreads Synopsis:
For her previous novels (Things We Didn't Say, The Life You've Imagined, Real Life & Liars), author Kristina Riggle has garnered fabulous reviews and established herself as a rapidly rising star of contemporary women's fiction. In Keepsake, she explores that most complicated of relationships, as two sisters raised by a hoarder deal with old hurts and resentments, and the very different paths their lives have taken. As always, Riggle approaches important topics poignantly and honestly--including hoarding and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in her remarkable Keepsake--while writing with real emotional power and compassion about families and their baggage. For readers of Katrina Kittle and Elin Hildenbrand, Kristina Riggle's Keepsake is a treasure.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! 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 and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.