First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Fifty Words for Rain; Asha Lemmie

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read soon. 

                                                         Fifty Words for Rain; Asha Lemmie

                                                                        Dutton - 2020

PRELUDE

Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Summer 1948

"The first real memory Nori had was pulling up to that house. For many years afterward, she would try to stretch the boundaries of her mind further, to what came before that day.  Time and time again, she'd lie on her back in the stillness of the night and try to recall.  Sometimes she'd catch a glimpse in her head of a tiny apartment with lurid yellow walls. But the image would disappear as quickly as it came, leaving no sense of satisfaction in its wake.  And so if you asked her, Nori would say that her life had officially begun the day she laid eyes on that imposing estate that rested serenely between the crests of two green hills. It was a  stunningly beautiful place--there was no denying it--and yet, despite this beauty, Nori felt her stomach clench and her gut churn at the sight of it.  Her mother rarely took her anywhere, and somehow she knew that something was waiting for her there that she would not like."

What do you think pass or read more? I loved the sound of this from the first time I read about it on Judy's Blog, Keep the Wisdom.  I'm enjoying this one so far.

Book Review - Sleepless Nights; Elizabeth Hardwick

TITLE/AUTHOR: Sleepless Nights; Elizabeth Hardwick

PUBLISHER: New York Review Book Classics

YEAR PUBLISHED: 1979 (reprint - 2001)

GENRE: Fiction (partially autobiographical) 

FORMAT: print/trade paperback PP/LENGTH: 128 pp.

SOURCE: my shelves/purchased

SETTING(s): US: Kentucky, NY, Maine, Vermont, CT and Europe

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: An elderly woman writes the story of her life through memories.

BRIEF REVIEW: My first book of 2021, just 128 pages, was not the kind of story I'm normally drawn to, but it was one that I enjoyed reading.  It was written by the author when she was 63 years old and is partially autobiographical.

Intro paragraph --"It is JUNE.  This is what I have decided to do with my life just now.  I will do this work of transformed and even distorted memory and lead this life, the one that I am leading today.  Every morning the blue clock and the crocheted bedspread with its pink and blue and gray squares and diamonds.  How nice it is--this production of a broken old woman in a squalid nursing home.  The niceness and the squalor and sorrow in an apathetic battle--that is what I see.  More beautiful is the table with the telephone, the books and magazines, the Times at the door, the birdsong of rough, grinding trucks in the street."

From her Kentucky childhood, one of nine children to grad school at Columbia in NY we get a feel for the old smoky jazz clubs  of NY and long gone hotels of years passed. Traveling to her large summer home in Maine and to stays in Boston, Vermont, Connecticut and Europe we follow her life, her friends, her experiences in an unsentimental sort of way.  

The story is very visual, the writing excellent, it almost had a dreamlike quality at times. Although the writing style was a bit unconventional, it felt all the more personal to me, like I was an old friend that she was reliving her past experiences with.  I'm happy I started the New Years with this book from my shelves. -- quite, reflective, memorable.

RATING: 4.5/5 stars

MEMORABLE QUOTES: 

"Darwin wrote someplace that suffering of the lower animals throughout time was more than he could bear to think of."

" Divorces and separation - that is one way to get attention. Everyone examines their own state and some say: strange, they were much happier than we are."

On deciding to sell her large home in Maine ----"For the rest of loss, perhaps my memories betray me a little and bleach the darkness of the scene, the agitation of the evenings. I am aware as anyone of the appeal, the power of the negative. Well, we go from one graven image to the next and, say what you will, each house is a shine."

Happy New Year - 2021 Reading Goals / Challenges

Wishing all my readers a Happy New Year. My love, good health and happiness make 2021 special.

I've been thinking a lot about 2021 reading. The past (2) years I've read between (135-142 books). This year's goal will be (125) so i won't feel any pressure. 

It seems like we will still be spending a lot of time home, at least for the first half of 2021 so I wanted to have more focus with on what I'm reading.  I want to read more books that I "purchased" over the years: physical books,  eBooks and audio books.  I really enjoy mysteries and thrillers so I'll try to read more of those in 2021 as well which will include some vintage mysteries as well. I alway start out with good intentions but, then plans fall apart or become less important LOL.

When I first started blogging in 2008, I joined loads of reading challenges each year but, have gotten away from that in recent years. Below are (3) challenges that seem to fit my goals which I decided to do informally:

                                                          (2-3 per month from my purchased books)

                                              

                                             (Reading the States will be an ongoing challenge)

1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois
14. Indiana
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Louisiana
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico
32. New York
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio
36. Oklahoma
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming

                                                             (Visit 20+ different countries)

(Goal 12 - one per month)

1. January
2. February
3. March
4. April
5. May
6. June
7. July
8. August
9. September
10. October
11. November
12. December

Of course, I still plan to read favorite authors, some new releases, a few memoirs and other non-fiction as well as some literary fiction.

                                      Have you set any goals or joined any challenges for 2021?

Favorite Reads of 2020

I think we are all ready to say goodbye to 2020 but, didn't it start out with so much promise, didn't most of us have some fun plans in store? How quickly our lives can change in the blink of an eye.  I'm ready for 2021, very ready, but, I don't think my personal life will change much until most people are vaccinated. Although I missed not seeing my loved as often as in previous years. I'm thankful we did see them but always outdoors and, winter in New England that is not so easy. 2020 was a good year for solitary activities like reading, home projects and extra walks, don't you agree?  I was surprised that with more indoor time I read (6) fewer books this year.  I was pretty sure it would have been more.  Well here's to 2021 and for those of you who are interested here's what my 2020 in reading looked like :

Books Read in 2020 - 135 and (9 that I abandoned) GoodReads Goal was 125

• (22) NF (113) FICTION
• (34) MALE authors (101) FEMALE
• (19) CHILDREN'S books
• (51) AUDIO books
• (38) PRINT books - (25) of these were print books off my shelves
• (46) eBOOKS
• (43) library borrows (print or library audio downloads)
• (37,867) pages (GoodReads tracker)

Things To Do Differently in 2021

• Although I started out tracking the locales from the books I read early on, I didn't keep up the list. I'd love to look back and see the different places where my reading took me. I know it's still doable but, don't have the patience so, "note to self, keep a list of settings in 2021".
• Read more books from my shelves - sadly only (25) print books moved off my shelves in 2020 and were given away or donated. I only purchased about (5) print books in 2020 but about (20) eBooks and (13) audiobooks. "note to self, buy fewer books and read what I already have - borrow the rest from the library."
• Join a couple of new challenges to help me meet my goals and make reading even more fun (more about that in a few days). When I first started blogging I joined lots of challenges but, the last (8) years or so I've mostly done only the RIP in the fall.
• Another thing I noticed that makes me kind of sad is that ALL of my favorite books were published in 2019 or 2020. Why? Because, I'm drawn to new releases yet, there are so many older books that I want to read. "Note to self - read the favorites from years gone by that are still on my TBR list."

I'm sure there are other things that I'd like to do differently but, I that's the plan right now for 2021. 

                                                          NOW for My FAVORITES

                                                            (in no particular order)                        

                                                               Favorite Kids Books of 2020

• Anatomicum; Jennifer Paxton - 5/5 (print/Dec) 
• Ghostology; Curtle & Steel - 5/5 (print/October)
• Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of John Lewis; Jabari Asim - 5/5 (print/August)
• Grow: The Secret of Our DNA; Nicola Davies - 5/5 (print/ September) 
• The Nest that Wren Built; Sosenshine - 5/5 (print/May)                                                    

                                                      

                                                   

                                                         Favorite Non-Fiction of 2020

• A Promised Land; Barack Obama - memoir - 4.5/5 - (audio/Dec)
• Conversations with RBG; Jeffrey Rosen - 5/5 - (audio/library/Dec)
• Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery; Catherine Gildiner - 5/5 - (eGalley/Nov)
• His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis & the Power of Hope; Jon Meacham -5/5 (eGalley/Oct
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone; Lori Gottlieb - 5/5 (library/print/January)                           

                                                    

                                                            Favorite Fiction Reads of 2020

• Our Fathers; Rebecca Wait - 5/5 (print/library/July)
• Eight Perfect Murders; Peter Swanson - 5/5 (eGalley/audio combo/April)
• My Dark Vanessa; Kate Elizabeth Russell - 5/5 - (eGalley/May)
• The Vanishing Half; Brit Bennett - 5/5 - (eBook/September)
•  Olive Again; Elizabeth Strout - 5/5 (audio/January)  
• I Was You; Amber Garza - 5/5 - (eGalley/August)                                                          

(Favorite Fiction of 2020 continued)

• Nothing More Dangerous; Allen Eskens - 5/5 (library/print/audio/March)
• The Sun Down Motel; Simone St. James - 5/5 - (eGalley/May)
• The Giver of Stars; Jo Jo Moyes - 5/5 - (audio/library/August)
• This Little Family; Ines Bayard - 4.5/5 - (ARC/July)

I can't wait to see all of your 2020 favorites. Are you planning any changes for 2021?

Book Review - The Best of Me; David Sedaris - (My Last Book of 2020)

 

                                                 The Best of Me: Essays; David Sedaris

                                                       Little Brown & Company - 2020

David Sedaris has been entertaining readers for some 25 years. His stories, sometimes unbelievable stories, are of the bizarre things and encounters of everyday lives.  It is impossible to listen to one of his audio books without bursting out laughing. I figured what better way to ring out 2020 but with some humor.

I think I've read most of his (14) books over the years. In this collection of essays, many were from previous books yet, they still seemed fresh and new to me as I read most of his books years earlier.  His writing is very snarky and not for everyone but, I enjoy his writing as well as his on stage performances.  This collection features the following essays (you can see from some of the titles, they are sure to be funny):

• Card Wired
• The Ship Shape
• Six to Eight Black Men
• The Under Study
• The Motherless Bear
• Loggerheads
• A Guy Walks into a Bar Car
• Now We are Five
• Leviathan
• The Spirit World

If you haven't tried David Sedaris previously, he reads all of his own material (thank goodness). My absolute favorite book is Calypso, a memoir, which was a series of NF essays about his life and family. I thought it was just fantastic and funny as well.

RATING - 4/5 stars

Book Review - A Promised Land; Barack Obama

 

                                                       A Promised Land; Barack Obama

                                                    Penguin Random House Audio - 2020

After listening to Michelle Obama reading her memoir, Becoming, I couldn't wait to hear our 44th President Barack Obama talk about his personal and political life.

The first 30 percent or so of this autobiography is very personal.  President Obama talks about his childhood, the early years, school/college and work before getting involved in politics. I especially loved the story of his journey to adulthood and how easily it seemed for him to laugh at himself.  He wasn't afraid to admit to the world how it took a while for him to become a serious student and how he loved to party. Meeting Michelle and becoming a father were clearly defining moments for him and it was easy to see just how much family means to him. Later I liked being transported back to that important address in 2004 he gave to the DNC which moved so many people.  There is so much detail in this memoir especially on important pivotal moments like the 2008 banking crisis.  He admits how affected he was by the Sandy Hook, CT, elementary school, shootings that killed some 20 very young children and 6 adults. How devastated his was when his subsequent attempt to enact a ban on military assault weapons was defeated by a Republican majority in the Senate. This first volume ends with the 2011 raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.

The autobiography, released in mid-November, is massive in scope. There are plenty of fine details about campaigns, cabinet picks and obstacles along the way. In fact this installment is just Volume 1 of 2, the audio is 29 hours and 10 minutes long. My husband and I listened to it together and both enjoyed it a lot. The book was not all political nor was it all about successes. I was impressed at how easy it seemed for the former leader to talk about doubts that have plagued him and, yet it made him come across as all the more human,  humble and introspective. It seemed very easy for him to find some humor even when things didn't go exactly as planned throughout his life. The former President speaks about those things he wished had worked out differently as well.  My favorite parts were the more personal points where he really bared his soul and talked about his love of family. One thing that I did miss was that by listening to the audio, I did not get to see all of the special photographs which are in the print edition but, I've since ordered a copy for our shelves. While I'm not sure when volume 2/2 will be released, I do highly recommended this volume on audio and, we look forward to what comes next. 

RATING - 4.5/5 stars

First Book of the New Year and First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Sleepless Nights; Elizabeth Hardwick

 

Have you selected your first book of 2021?  Still a few more days to join in. Thank you to Sheila@Book Journey for hosting this once again.  Here's my pick:

Sleepless Nights; Elizabeth Hardwick

New York Review Book Classics - 1979 & 2001

Today's first chapter, first paragraph Tuesday intros is from a book I choose as my first book of 2021 and plan to start reading on Friday,  New Year's Day.  This book was purchased by me at least five years ago, so I wanted to start off the New Year by reading something from my shelves - something that has sat there unread for way too long.

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read soon. 

PART ONE

"It is JUNE.  This is what I have decided to do with my life just now.  I will do this work of transformed and even distorted memory and lead this life, the one that I am leading today.  Every morning the blue clock and the crocheted bedspread with its pink and blue and gray squares and diamonds.  How nice it is--this production of a broken old woman in a squalid nursing home.  The niceness and the squalor and sorrow in an apathetic battle--that is what I see.  More beautiful is the table with the telephone, the books and magazines, the Times at the door, the birdsong of rough, grinding trucks in the street."

What do you think? Keep reading or pass? (The description of the crocheted bedspread, made me flash back to an afghan throw my mother had crocheted for the back of our sofa when I still lived at home.)