Thursday Quotables: A Farewell To Arms

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway
(published 1929)

I’m only on chapter two at this point — but I’ve never read Hemingway before, and I really enjoyed this paragraph from the very first page:

In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. The trunks of the trees too were dusty and the leaves fell early that year and we saw the troops marching along the road and the dust rising and leaves, stirred by the breeze, falling and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves.

I have no idea what to expect, but I’m intrigued by the writing style and want to know more!

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

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16Aug2016

Shelf Control #47: The Ice Twins

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Shelf Control is all about the books we want to read — and already own! Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, sitting right there on our shelves and e-readers.

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: The Ice Twins
Author: S. K. Tremayne
Published: 2015
Length: 373 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.

But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity—that she, in fact, is Lydia—their world comes crashing down once again.

As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past—what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?

How I got it:

I received an ARC via NetGalley (and feel really guilty about not reading it yet).

When I got it:

Last year, right before publication.

Why I want to read it:

Twin stories can be so great and creepy, and I love the sound of the possibly mistaken identity, as well as the setting on an isolated Scottish island. I remember seeing a few reviews from other bloggers when the book came out, and the consensus seemed to be that this is a great suspense story. Definitely seems like something I’d enjoy!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

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15Aug2016

Take A Peek Book Review: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought.

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

On a foggy summer night, eleven people—ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter—depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs—the painter—and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul’s family.

With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members—including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot—the mystery surrounding the tragedy heightens. As the passengers’ intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy. Was it merely by dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations. And while Scott struggles to cope with fame that borders on notoriety, the authorities scramble to salvage the truth from the wreckage.

Amid pulse-quickening suspense, the fragile relationship between Scott and the young boy glows at the heart of this stunning novel, raising questions of fate, human nature, and the inextricable ties that bind us together.

My Thoughts:

Wow, what a thrill-ride! Although choosing to start this book the night before a long plane trip was maybe not the brightest idea I’ve every had.

In Before the Fall, the story starts almost immediately with the terror of the crash, and then the miracle of Scott’s long swim to safety, saving his own life as well as that of one small boy. But that’s only the beginning — from here, the author takes a post-mortem approach, giving us chapters focusing on each of the people on board the small plane, so that we see how the pieces fit together. Was it mechanical failure? Something deliberate? And if it was deliberate, who was the intended target?

The storyline shows Scott’s growing closeness to the surviving child, the intensity of the government agents investigating the crash, and the firestorm of media attention and sensationalism that soon follows. The chapters focusing on the different characters and their backstories are fascinating, always leaving me wanting more.

Overall, Before the Fall is a gripping read that builds and builds. It’s tense, well-constructed, hard to predict, and surprising in all the right ways. The characters are well-defined, so much so that it’s hard to approach the end of the story and realize that these people — good and bad, all flawed, almost none irredeemable — are doomed to the end that we knew about from the start.

It’s a pretty neat trick, telling us up front that all of these characters have died, and then taking the time to let us get to know them. Somehow, the tragedy of their senseless deaths is all the more striking with this backwards approach. Meanwhile, Scott’s story is compelling and sympathetic. It’s hard to see a decent man caught up in the tabloid frenzy that follows the crash, but how Scott manages is pretty good stuff too.

Before the Fall is a great summer read — quick, absorbing, and impossible not to care about.

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The details:

Title: Before the Fall
Author: Noah Hawley
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: May 31, 2016
Length: 391 pages
Genre: Adult fiction
Source: Purchased (e-book)

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15Aug2016

The Monday Check-In ~ 8/15/2016

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

In real life:

Yesterday, my baby turned 14, and today he starts high school. I may have a tear or two in my eyes, but he’s totally ready to get on with it (and tells me to stop being such a dork about it all).

What did I read last week?

I was away again for a week, so I had lot of time to curl up with good books! I haven’t written a book review in ages, but here’s what I’ve read recently:

Bad Blood by Dana Stabenow: The 20th book in the Kate Shugak series is also the last one published… and now I’m done! Bad Blood ends with a major cliffhanger — so unfair! So now we readers have to just sit and wait until whenever #21 is published, which leaves me feeling like:

Currently in my hands:

The Memory Wall by Lev AC Rosen: The upcoming new release from a can’t-miss author! Stay tuned for a blog feature about The Memory Wall!

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain: I won this in a Goodreads giveaway this spring, and I’m finally settling down to read it. I’ve heard such good things!

Now playing via audiobook:

I still have quite a ways to go, but I’m whole-heartedly enjoying the Goblet of Fire audiobook.

Ongoing reads:

My book group is reading and discussing two chapters per week of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. This is an online group, and anyone is welcome to join us — so if you’re interested, just ask me how!

And… our new classic read is A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway! We start today with chapter one, and I’m so excited!

So many books, so little time…

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10Aug2016

Thursday Quotables: Bag of Bones

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Bag of Bones by Stephen King
(published 1998)

I seem to be on a Stephen King tear right now, probably because it’s summer, and somehow King’s brand of writing ends up being my perfect choice for beach reading. (What does that say about me???) I really loved Bag of Bones and the creepy mood sustained throughout.

That’s enough, a voice in my mind said uneasily. That’s enough, now. Go on back and get your car.

Except that wasn’t the plan. The plan was to go down the driveway, just as I had in the final dream, the nightmare. The plan was to prove to myself that there was no shroud-wrapped monster lurking in the shadows of the big old log house down there. The plan was pretty much based on that bit of New Age wisdom which says the word “fear” stands for Face Everything And Recover. But, as I stood there and looked down at that spark of porch light (it looked very small in the growing darkness), it occurred to me that there’s another bit of wisdom, one not quite so good-morning-starshine, which suggests fear is actually an acronym for Fuck Everything And Run. Standing there by myself in the woods as the light left the sky, that seemed like the smarter interpretation, no two ways about it.

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

Save

9Aug2016

Shelf Control #46: The Hob’s Bargain

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: The Hob’s Bargain
Author: Patricia Briggs
Published: 2001
Length: 281 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

Beauty and The Beast

Hated and feared, magic was banished from the land. But now, freed from the spells of the wicked bloodmages, magic—both good and evil—returns. And Aren of Fallbrook feels her own power of sight strengthen and grow…

Overcome by visions of mayhem and murder, Aren vows to save her village from the ruthless raiders who have descended upon it—and killed her family. With the return of wildlings to the hills and forests, she strikes a bargain with the Hob, a magical, human-like creature imbued with the power of the mountains. But the Hob is the last of his kind. And he will exact a heavy price to defend the village—a price Aren herself must pay…

How I got it:

I bought it!

When I got it:

A few years ago, after discovering this author’s amazing urban fantasy books.

Why I want to read it:

I love the Mercy Thompson books more than words can say (although I keep trying…). I’ve read all of the books in the series and in the related Alpha & Omega series, but I’ve never read any of Patricia Briggs’s earlier fantasy works. She’s such an amazing writer that I’m more than willing to give this book a try. After all, the next Mercy book is still months away, and I need something to keep me busy!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

Save

3Aug2016

Thursday Quotables: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne
(published 2016)

HARRY POTTER! Seriously, HARRY POTTER! I read this on Sunday, and have been flipping through it since. It’s all wonderful, but here are a few favorite (non-spoilery) moments:

Scorpius: You know it’s the strangest of things, but ever since being in the scariest place imaginable I’m pretty much good with fear. I am — Scorpius the Dreadless. I am – Malfoy the Unanxious.

On a more serious note:

Harry: [Name deleted], playing with Time? You know we can’t do that.

[Name deleted]: How many people have died for the Boy Who Lived? I’m asking you to save one of them.

One more:

Albus: So what would you like me to do? Magic myself popular? Conjure myself into a new House? Transfigure myself into a better student? Just cast a spell, Dad, and change me into what you want me to be, okay? It’ll work better for both of us. Got to go. Train to catch. Friend to find.

I loved this book! I’m traveling this week, but when I get home, I plan to read it all the way through again… this time, calmly and with an eye for detail, rather than just inhaling it as fast as possible.

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

Save

2Aug2016

Shelf Control #45: The Fever Tree

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: The Fever Tree
Author: Jennifer McVeigh
Published: 2013
Length: 432 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

In London she was caged by society.
In South Africa, she is dangerously free.

Frances Irvine, left destitute in the wake of her father’s sudden death, has been forced to abandon her life of wealth and privilege in London and emigrate to the Southern Cape of Africa. 1880 South Africa is a country torn apart by greed. In this remote and inhospitable land she becomes entangled with two very different men—one driven by ambition, the other by his ideals. Only when the rumor of a smallpox epidemic takes her into the dark heart of the diamond mines does she see her path to happiness.

But this is a ruthless world of avarice and exploitation, where the spoils of the rich come at a terrible human cost and powerful men will go to any lengths to keep the mines in operation. Removed from civilization and disillusioned by her isolation, Frances must choose between passion and integrity, a decision that has devastating consequences.

How I got it:

I bought it at a used book sale.

When I got it:

About a year ago.

Why I want to read it:

I love historical fiction (usually), but the time and place of this book are new to me in terms of where I’ve “traveled” already through fiction. The description really caught my eye… and so did the gorgeous cover!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

Save

1Aug2016

The Monday Check-In ~ 8/1/2016

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

In real life:

Happy August! Or as we used to say at my summer camp on the first day of each month, Rabbit Rabbit!

What did I read last week?

First and foremost, this:

Loved it! My reaction post is here.

I also read:

Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow: Continuing with my Kate Shugak obsession, I read book #19 in the series. One more to go, and I’ll be all caught up!

In audiobooks…

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi: I finished listening to this hilarious sci-fi audiobook, and loved it! Check out my review here.

Pop Culture Goodness:

My book group finished our months-long read of Emma earlier in July, and we’ve all been watching movie adaptations. During the past week, I watched both of these:

The 1996 movie version starring Gwyneth Paltrow

The 2009 BBC mini-series starring Romola Garai

Both were quite good, although with very different portrayals of Emma and the rest of the characters.

Fresh Catch:

A few new books last week — a graphic novel, my book group’s next classic read, and a book I plan to take with me when I travel this week — so glad it arrived in time!

And best of all, in case I didn’t make it perfectly clear already:

SO. FRICKIN’. FANTASTIC.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Bad Blood by Dana Stabenow: The last published Kate Shugak novel (#20), although I understand that #21 is in the works. I guess I’ll have to find a new series to obsess over!

I have another trip coming up this week, and so far my traveling book companions are likely to be:

… and whatever delights are hidden on my Kindle!

Now playing via audiobook:

Entirely coincidentally, I’ve gone back to the Harry Potter audiobooks! Just started Goblet of Fire, and it’ll probably take me a few weeks to get through it. And I’ll love every moment, I’m sure. (I’m on a Harry Potter high at the moment — can you tell?)

Ongoing reads:

So many books, so little time…

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31Jul2016

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: I loved it!

Posted in Book Reviews, Pop Culture by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Today’s the day! And what a day it’s been!

Thanks to the glory of Amazon PrimeNow, I woke up to find this on my doorstep (delivered at 1:00 a.m., according to the tracking notice):

Which I ripped open as soon as I got my hands on it, and grabbed this:

At which point, I sequestered myself away with my book and a big mug of coffee, and didn’t come up for air until I got to this:

Well, you certainly won’t get any spoilers out of me about the plot, but I will say that I loved being back in the world of Harry Potter, was delighted by the familiar characters as well as the new ones, and thought it was clever, moving, and loads of fun! Yes, it’s a bit weird reading a script and not a novel, but that’s okay. One thing that absolutely came out of this reading experience for me was a burning desire to get to London and to see the play! Don’t know how, don’t know when, but I’m going to make it happen.