How many opening book lines do you know?

 Check it out here:  How many opening lines do you know?
 
Thanks to Tabatha Leggett of Buzz Feed UK for this quiz....And the comments sparked questions regarding some of these books as "literature"--a never ending discourse.

How many did you guess?
 

52 Weeks 52 Books - THE HUSBAND'S SECRET - Week Ending August 26, 2013

The Husband's Secret totally drew me in, asking the reader to think about how well we know our spouses, and ultimately ourselves.  It asks how a person can live with a deep and dark secret, and how a spouse can learn and keep a devastating secret that threatens to destroy their lives.  It leaves the reader wondering.......what would I do in this case? The Husband's Secret reads like a light read, but asks some serious questions. 
       ~ Katherine

"At the heart of The Husband's Secret is a letter that's not meant to be read......."My darling Cecilia, if you're reading this, then I've died..."  Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret-something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive...Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all-she's an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia-or each other-but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's secret. 

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses-and, ultimately, ourselves. 

~ From the Publisher

Misadventures in Arabia from Suzanne

Baghdad Without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia
Author: Tony Horwitz

With razor-sharp wit and insight, intrepid journalist Tony Horwitz gets beyond solemn newspaper headlines and romantic myths of Arabia to offer startling close-ups of a volatile region few Westerners understand. His quest for hot stories takes him from the tribal wilds of Yemen to the shell-pocked shores of Lebanon; from the malarial sands of the Sudan to the eerie souks of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, a land so secretive that even street maps and weather reports are banned.

At an oasis in the Empty Quarter, a veiled woman offers tea and a mysterious declaration of love. In Cairo, "politeness police" patrol seedy nightclubs to ensure that belly dancers don't show any belly. And at the Ayatollah's funeral in Tehran a mourner chants, "Death to America," then confesses to the author his secret dream -- to visit Disneyland.

Careening through thirteen Muslim countries and Israel, Horwitz travels light, packing a keen eye, a wicked sense of humor, and chutzpah in almost suicidal measure. This wild and comic tale of Middle East misadventure reveals a fascinating world in which the ancient and the modern collide.  
           ~ From Suzanne

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ SISTERLAND by Curtis Sittenfeld ~ Week Ending August 19, 2013

I'm a big fan of Curtis Sittenfeld, but Sisterland  didn't quite deliver for me.  The premise is fascinating: twin sisters who are psychic--one sister embraces her ability to see into the future, and the other tucks it far, far away. I found myself skimming much of the book as it's filled with boring daily details that didn't seem to add anything.  On the other hand it is a fascinating study of sisterhood, and she writes well of St. Louis and the surrounding areas.  See what you think--it's on many a list of books not to be missed this summer!  ~ Katherine

 SISTERLAND by Curtis Sittenfeld

"From an early age, Kate and her identical twin sister, Violet, knew that they were unlike everyone else. Kate and Vi were born with peculiar senses--innate psychic abilities concerning future events and other people’s secrets. Though Vi embraced her visions, Kate did her best to hide them.

Now, years later, their different paths have led them both back to their hometown of St. Louis. Vi has pursued an eccentric career as a psychic medium, while Kate, a devoted wife and mother, has settled down in the suburbs to raise her two young children. But when a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the normal life Kate has always wished for begins to shift. After Vi goes on television to share a premonition that another, more devastating earthquake will soon hit the St. Louis area, Kate is mortified. Equally troubling, however, is her fear that Vi may be right. As the date of the predicted earthquake quickly approaches, Kate is forced to reconcile her fraught relationship with her sister and to face truths about herself she’s long tried to deny."  ~ From the Publisher

Jackrabbit Junction Jitters: Jackrabbit Junction (Bk 2) by Ann Charles

Another fun mystery series from Ann Charles. The characters are fun and quirky.

Claire is back, raining trouble throughout Jackrabbit Junction in another fast-paced, fun, sexy suspense. A burglar is on the loose! Claire wastes no time forming suspicions, but she's sidetracked by a treasure hunt. Even with help from her boyfriend, Claire is swirling in a whirlpool of chaos. Throw her crazy sister into the torrent, along with an angst-ridden teen, a jittery bride, and some randy old men, and Claire struggles just to keep a toehold in the current. Then her mother arrives......

~ Suzanne

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ WHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE ~ Week Ending August 12, 2013

"Witty, smart, and funny, sweet and tender, and even serious, WHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE makes fun of Seattle and Microsoft and private school moms, and is filled with family drama, neighbor drama and career drama.  Her characters are ultra intelligent and at once both unlikeable and loveable.  It's told in a refreshing style made up of emails, school reports, newspaper articles and and notes, and  I loved the humor and even the characters by the end of the novel. Easy to see why it's never on the library shelf!"  ~ Katherine

"Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world." ~ from the Publisher

Upcoming Books

One of the perks that librarians often enjoy are getting an advance copy of a book that will be in bookstores or on library shelves in the upcoming months.  A new website has launched with reviews by librarians of upcoming books, Library Reads!  Check out the site to see ten very different books that are recommended and will be out at the end of August or in September.  All ten books are being purchased and will be on our "New Books" shelf as soon as they arrive.  You may even see some reviews from Brookfield librarians in the upcoming months!  

~ Katherine
 
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52 Weeks 52+ Books - THE HIGHWAY and MAYA'S NOTEBOOK - Week Ending August 5, 2012

Both of the books I read this week had evil long distance truckers--is this a popular trend these days?

THE HIGHWAY by C.J. Box

I usually enjoy this author's books, especially the Joe Pickett series, but there was too much darkness and little surprise in The Highway. 

"When two sisters set out across a remote stretch of Montana road to visit their friend, little do they know it will be the last time anyone might ever hear from them again. The girls—and their car—simply vanish.  Former police investigator Cody Hoyt has just lost his job and has fallen off the wagon after a long stretch of sobriety.  Convinced by his son and his former rookie partner, Cassie Dewell, he begins the drive south to the girls’ last known location.  As Cody makes his way to the lonely stretch of Montana highway where they went missing, Cassie discovers that Gracie and Danielle Sullivan aren’t the first girls who have disappeared in this area.  This majestic landscape is the hunting ground for a killer whose viciousness is outmatched only by his intelligence.  And he might not be working alone....." ~ From the Publisher 

MAYA'S NOTEBOOK by Isabel Allende

It's hard for me to believe that this is the first book by Allende that I've read, but it won't be the last.  She's a masterful storyteller and lyrical writer, and the tale she weaves is filled with family drama, teenage angst, and the possibility for redemption.  
 
"This contemporary coming-of-age story centers upon Maya Vidal, a remarkable teenager abandoned by her parents. Maya grew up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandmother Nini, whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973 with a young son, and her grandfather Popo, a gentle African-American astronomer.

When Popo dies, Maya goes off the rails. Along with a circle of girlfriends known as "the vampires," she turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime--a downward spiral that eventually leads to Las Vegas and a dangerous underworld, with Maya caught between warring forces: a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol.

Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. In the care of her grandmother’s old friend, Manuel Arias, and surrounded by strange new acquaintances, Maya begins to record her story in her notebook, as she tries to make sense of her past and unravel the mysteries of her family and her own life." ~ From the Publisher

Paranormal Romance from Suzanne

Succubus on Top
(Georgina Kincaid, Bk 2)
Author: Richelle Mead

"I'm enjoying this fantasy series about a succubus and her life working in a bookstore and falling in love with an author. The series brings fantasy, history, mystery and moral situations together in an interesting read." ~ From Suzanne
  
Georgina Kincaid's job sucks. Literally. Love hurts, and no one knows it better than Georgina Kincaid. If she so much as kisses her new boyfriend, she'll drain his life force. Georgina is a succubus - a demon who draws her power from other men's pleasure. Admittedly, the shape shifting and immortality perks are terrific, and yes, Georgina did choose to join the ranks of hell centuries ago. But it seems completely unfair that a she-demon whose purpose is seduction can't get hot and heavy with the one mortal who knows and accepts her for who she is. It's not just her personal life that's in chaos. Doug, Georgina's co-worker at a local bookstore, has been exhibiting bizarre behavior, and Georgina suspects that something far more demonic than double espressos is at work. She could use help finding out, but Bastien, an irresistibly charming incubus and her best immortal friend, is preoccupied in the suburbs with corrupting an ultra-conservative talk radio star - and giving Georgina some highly distracting come-hither vibes. Georgina is going to have to work solo on this one - and fast because soon, Doug's life won't be the only one on the line...

Food from Fiction

“The cupcakes were full of butter and frosted with a butter frosting. After he’d washed his hands and opened a bottle of Chardonnay he ate four of them and put the uncooked fish in the refrigerator.…He lowered the blinds and drank the wine and ate two more cupcakes, detecting peppermint in them, a faint buttery peppermint, before he slept.”  - Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections

 “On Saturday, he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon. That night he had a stomach ache.” – Roald Dahl, Matilda

"But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh! Sweet friends, hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuits and salted pork cut up into little flakes! The whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt ... we dispatched it with great expedition."  - Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past: Swann's Way

"But the peach ... ah, yes ... the peach was a soft, stealthy traveller, making no noise at all as it floated along.” - Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

 “A big pot of coffee for me,” panted Simmons, smiling. “And a pan of cinnamon buns, by God . . . Simmons yanked the door wide. “Hey!” he yelled. “Bring on the coffee and the buns!” “He stood for a few moments, looking about. Behind him the rain whirled at the door. Ahead of him on a low table, stood a silver pot of hot chocolate, steaming, and a cup, full, with a marshmallow in it. And beside that, on another tray, stood thick sandwiches of rich chicken meat and fresh cut tomatoes and green onions.” – Ray Bradbury,  The Illustrated Man

“The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very center and Edmond and never tasted anything more delicious.”-  C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  

"Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-coloured toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavour Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizzbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were ‘Special Effects’ sweets: Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-coloured bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps (‘breathe fire for your friends!’), Ice Mice (‘hear your teeth chatter and squeak!’), peppermint creams shaped like toads (‘hop realistically in the stomach!’) , fragile sugar-spun quills and exploding bonbons." Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach

“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It's a grain. It's like, like, grits, but with high self-esteem.” - James Patterson, The Angel Experiment

 No image for this one!:

 “Mr. Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods’ roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.” - James Joyce, Ulysses

52 Weeks 52 Books ~ The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline ~ Week Ending July 29, 2013

ORPHAN TRAIN by Christina Baker Kline

Orphan Train is a tale of a friendship between an elderly woman and a troubled teenage girl, both orphans, but with very different pasts. 

Molly Ayer finds herself, in 2011, just months from aging out of foster care, and struggling to get along in her latest foster home, and as the result of the theft of a library book, she is assigned a community service position helping an elderly woman.
 
Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life, but hidden in trunks in her attic are mementos of a tragic past. Vivian, who, as a young girl, was orphaned in New York City, and put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children to find new homes.

Molly and Vivian forge an unusual friendship, and discover many things that they have in common, most importantly, that they spent their youth being raised by strangers, often finding themselves in terrible situations, and on the outskirts of society.  This is a book about resilience and second chances, and the historical background about the orphan trains shows the reader the many tragedies, as well as the positive outcomes from those years.  ~ Katherine