Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's how it works..
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two "teaser" sentances from somewhere on that page.
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share does not give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author too so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Here are my teasers:
"A horse and carriage, a droshky, approached and she had to stand back, to push herself against a wall to let it pass. As it disappeared into the whiteness of the storm, she looked around and realized that she had no idea where she was."
p. 86, The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin
The Christmas Note
by Donna VanLiere
208 pages
Short Version: After recently moving in to a condo with her children, Gretchen offers to help her neighbor clean out her mother's apartment and a friendship starts to unfold.
Why I Read It: I won this book on BookTrib and it arrived at my house just in time to read for Christmas.
The Book: From Goodreads
Gretchen Daniels has recently moved into a condo with her two children to be closer to her mother, Miriam. As they build a life together in their new community, they notice a mysterious young woman, Melissa McCreary, who lives next door. She has few possessions, little personality, and keeps to herself. One day a local landlord who is looking for Melissa knocks on Gretchen’s door for assistance. Melissa’s mother has died and in the coming weeks the landlord needs Melissa to empty her mother’s apartment. Gretchen reaches out and offers to help Melissa, but the apartment is a gut-wrenching shamble of a home. There is little worth saving except for a few photos and a note that is discovered on the crate beside the bed. It is unfinished, but in the two scribbled lines, Melissa discovers secrets about her family that she never could have imagined. Can two very different women embark on a journey that explores a long-buried need for forgiveness, hope, and redemption?
My Thoughts: I had a little bit of trouble really getting into this book in the beginning. Each chapter has a different narrator, either Gretchen or Melissa. I like having different view points, but the way it was written seemed a bit impersonal. I was not really feeling the emotions the characters were feeling. Gretchen is dealing with her husband not being around and Melissa is coping with the death of her alcoholic mother. Those were both big parts of their lives but I could not get how they were really feeling. Once Gretchen and Melissa start interacting more I started to like the book a little better. Melissa made a transformation throughout the book. In the beginning she was very anti-social and stayed to herself all the time. As Gretchen came into her life this started to change and she came to have friends and even family. There were a few twists and surprises I was not expecting which I liked. Overall it was a good book for getting into the holiday spirit. It reminded me of family and the things that are important, not only this time of year but all the time.
3/5 Stars
The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant
321 pages
Short Version: Dinah, daughter of Jacob, tells her story beginning with her mothers and continuing through her life, giving readers a glimpse of biblical women's lives.
Why I Read It: I was told by a few people this was a good book to get into, so I finally took the time to do just that.
The Book: From Goodreads
Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.
My Thoughts: As I mentioned above, the reason I read this was because I was told it was a good book to get into. My friends who told me that were very right. I have to admit, I put off reading this book for awhile because I assumed it would be very religious. Well I have learned my lesson again- I should not be judging books by their covers. I was worried it would be very biblical and I wouldn't fully understand everything, but Diamant does a wonderful job at making this easy to understand (I especially loved the family tree in the front of the book- this helped keep all the characters straight). Dinah lived a life with many struggles, but she was such a strong woman and dealt with what came to her. Her courage and determination made me proud to be a woman.
The book is told in three parts. First, Dinah tells the stories of her mothers- Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah. Between the four of them they have many sons of Jacob. The second part tells Dinah's story as she is growing up as the only daughter of Jacob. Dinah is doted on by all of her mothers and learns their stories, secrets, and skills of midwifery as she spends time with them in the red tent. The final part of The Red Tent is about Dinah's life in Egypt after tragedy has turned her against her family. (I will not go more into that- read for yourself!).
The story, the history, and the characters brought this book all together to make is a wonderful read. I recommend this to all women looking for a good book to get into!
4/5 Stars
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's how it works..
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two "teaser" sentances from somewhere on that page.
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share does not give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author too so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Here are my teasers:
"It was painful for her to look at him. And yet, every morning when she opened her eyes her first thought was of him."
p.29, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Sea Changes
by Gail Gibson
401 pages
Short Verson: Sarah is still grieving the loss of her husband after 2 years. She comes across a parallel world under the sea. While trying to figure out if it is real or not, others believe her to be part of a missing persons crime.
Why I Read It: This was a find at Borders when they were closing. It's been on my TBR shelf and seemed like an easy read for my trip this weekend.
The Book: From Goodreads
Newly widowed, Sarah tries to drown herself, only to discover an impossible, alternative world. Back on the beach she asks herself, Did that really happen? Or am I losing my mind? Her attempt to make sense of what happened involves her in an alleged kidnapping, and Sarah ends up being accused of murdering someone from a world that doesn't exist. Or does it?
My Thoughts: This was a good easy read I wanted for my plane ride today. The idea of this parallel world that Sarah is a vestigant to was interesting. The under water world is less physical and more "cerebral existence" as the inhabitants call it. Sarah only interacts with two of the inhabitants of the parallel world, Bantryd and Xaxanader. Bantryd decides to come back with Sarah to look for her mother. She is new to everything in Sarah's world and has trouble getting used to it. During all of this Sarah is unsure of if it is really happening or if it is a dream. While she is figuring out what is real and what is not, she becomes a suspect in the case of a missing heiress. The heiress looks just like Bantryd. Sarah knows it is not her but everyone else cannot see that and Sarah knows they won't believe her story of the parallel world under the sea. Sarah's grief psychiatrist tries to tell her this parallel world is her way of coping with things and making them better for herself. I almost thought this was the way the book would end, with Sarah realizing it was not real but a coping mechanism. However, I was clearly wrong about this. I was worried the ending would be abrubt because I was getting to the last pages but things had not been resolved. It turned out to be a good ending though. Closure, but with some left to the imagination. Overall this turned out to be a good read.
3.5/5 stars
Know Me Better is a weekly blog hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. Each week 5 questions are picked to answer so your readers can get to know you a little better. Click here to join! Then just grab the image and the questions and answer the questions on your blog.
Red or Green?
For Christmas I like both colors together. Red always reminds me of Christmas though, no matter what time of year it is.
Favorite Christmas Carol?
Baby It's Cold Outside or Walking in a Winter Wonderland
What do you want for Christmas?
This year I asked for new tires from my dad (he is a mechanic), a new suit from my gma (for work), and of course some Barnes & Noble gift cards.
Favorite Holiday Treats?
Cookies! I found a great recipe for thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies and they are awesome!
Favorite Holiday Tradition?
The way we open Christmas presents at my Gma's is from youngest to oldest, 3 at a time. There are 12 grandkids (I am the oldest) and we sit in the living room on little chairs and open our presents while everyone watches. We started this a few years ago once things got really crazy with everyone opening gifts at the same time.
This is a day late, but better late then never!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's how it works..
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two "teaser" sentances from somewhere on that page.
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share does not give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author too so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Here are my teasers:
"There was nothing." "How did the world come out of nothing?
p. 212, Sea Changes by Gail Graham
