First Chapter Tuesday: The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

It's another busy week, so I thought I'd share with you all one of the books I just recently picked up! It is:

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
 

Excerpt:

"CHAPTER 1 

Trade season came around again. Baru was still too young to smell the empire wind. 

The Masquerade sent its favorite soldiers to conquer Taranoke: sailcloth, dyes, glazed ceramic, sealskin and oils, paper currency printed in their Falcrest tongue. Little Baru, playing castles in the hot black sand, liked to watch their traders come in to harbor. She learned to count by tallying the ships and the seabirds that circled them. 

Nearly two decades later, watching firebearer frigates heel in the aurora light, she would remember those sails on the horizon. But at age seven, the girl Baru Cormorant gave them no weight. She cared mostly for arithmetic and birds and her parents, who could show her the stars.

 But it was her parents who taught her to be afraid."

Goodreads

I think this is a fairly interesting and engaging start. I have been seeing people talking about how incredible this book is everywhere and I knew I'd have get to it eventually, but it kept popping up everywhere so I just decided to give in and request it from my library. I'm only ~100 pages in and I'm slightly on the fence still. It seems like it has a lot of potential and I have faith that it will pick up, but I've just had a bit of a time trying to get into it, so we'll see! I'm still really excited about finally reading it, though! It has a really fascinating premise.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter Tuesday: The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington & Hild by Nicola Griffi

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

As excited as I was about this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic, I just didn't have the time to sort through TV shows and set up that post, so I opted to share a bit about one book I'm currently reading and one that I plan to read soon!

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

Excerpt:

"Davian's eyes snapped open. The young man sat there for some time, heart pounding, breathing deeply to calm himself. Eventually he stirred from where he'd dozed off at his desk and rubbed at his face, absently tracing the raised scar that ran from the corner of his left eye down to his chin. It was pinkish white now, had healed years earlier. It still ached whenever the old memories threatened to surface, though. 

He stood, stretching muscles stiff from disuse and grimacing as he looked outside. His small room in the North Tower overlooked most of the school, and the windows below had al fallen dark. The courtyard torches flared and sputtered in their sockets, too, only barely clinging to life. 

Another evening gone, then. He was running out of those much faster than he would like."

Goodreads

This intro is interesting, but it doesn't stand out all that much to me, personally. I've actually just started The Shadow of What Was Lost, though, and I'm ~100 pages in and loving it! This has so much classic fantasy feel to it and I'm already interested in the plot and the characters.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

Hild by Nicola Griffith

Excerpt:

"THE CHILD'S WORLD CHANGED late one afternoon, though she didn't know it. She lay at the edge of the hazel coppice, one cheek pressed to the moss that smelt of worm cast and the last of the sun, listening: to the wind in the elms, rushing away from the day, to the jackdaws changing their calls from "Outward! Outward!" to "Home now! Home!," to the rustle of the last frightened shrews scuttling under the layers of leaf fall before the owls began their hunt. From far away came the indignant honking of geese as the goosegirl herded them back inside the wattle fence, and the child knew, in the wordless way that three-year-olds reckon time, that soon Onnen would come and find her and Cian and hurry them back.

Onnen, some leftwise cousin of Ceredig king, always hurried, but the child, Hild, did not. She liked the rhythm of her days: time alone (Cian didn't count) and time by the fire listening to the murmur of British and Anglisc and even Irish. She liked time at the edges of things—the edge of the crowd, the edge of the pool, the edge of the wood—where all must pass but none quite belonged."

Goodreads

I just picked this one up from my library and I can't wait to read it! I don't see Hild mentioned around all that much, but it seems like it's going to be a fantastic book. It's set during Medieval England and tells the story of St. Hilda of Whitby, so I'm in!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to turn off adblock to see it!)

*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

Tuesday Double Feature: Tell Me Something Tuesday & First Chapter Tuesday

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings where a wide range of topics from books to blogging are discussed. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

This week's topic: Are you more inclined/ less inclined to read books that are compared to other popular books or authors?

 To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if this sort of description affects me too much one way or the other. Unless a book's description is just extremely annoying or rubs me the wrong way, then I'm pretty likely to just ignore the comparisons and read the book anyway. Comparisons might occasionally make me interested in a title, but they don't generally turn me off from a book (usually because a majority of the time the comparison is off).

I definitely get annoyed by certain book/author comparisons, namely Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, etc. comparisons. Not everything is 'like Harry Potter for adults' or 'Game of Thrones meets [insert random book/movie here]'. How about we just don't do that? If an author was specifically inspired by a certain book or author that has a big franchise, then I'm totally fine with something akin to 'inspired by [whatever book] here,' but I don't think they should actively compare the book for no real reason. I know it's all about marketing and the average buyer is more likely to pick up a book that markets itself as similar to Harry Potter, but I wish we could stop doing that because if all the books that claimed to be like Harry Potter or Game of Thrones actually were, we'd have very little variety.

The most recent example of a time when book/movie comparisons ended up both intriguing me and thenn disappointing me was with Jay Kristoff's latest release, LIFEL1K3. One of LIFEL1K3's main advertising sell is: "It's Romeo & Juliet meets Mad Max meets X-men with a little bit of Bladerunner cheering from the sidelines." Now, I don't hate this. I think it's fun and it did make me pretty intrigued by this book, but it also sort of gave me too  many expectations. It almost spoiled the book in a sense by giving away so much about what it's like and what it's perhaps trying to be. It also really frustrated me because of how disappointed I was in the book because it felt so unoriginal (I'll expand on this in my review for LIFEL1K3, which should be up Thursday). This particular instance of comparing has both pros and cons and although I think it successfully piqued the interest of a lot of readers, it personally left me wanting and slightly annoyed. I will say that I prefer it to the generic Harry Potter type ones, but I still felt a bit disappointed by it.

Minor digression aside, my answer is that these comparisons do not influence me to read or not to read a book, but they will possible affect how I view the book and my enjoyment of it. If I'm expecting one thing going into a book and then I never find that specific thing, then I'm going to be confused and frustrated. What are your thoughts on this subject?

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick

"Chapter 1: Tarboy

1 Vaqrin (first day of summer (941)
Midnight
It began, as every disaster in his life began, with a calm. The harbor and the village slept. The wind that had roared all night lay quelled by the headland; the bosun grew too sleepy to shout. But fort feet up the ratines, Pazel Pathkendle had never been more awake."

I read Robert V.S. Redick's neweest release Master Assassins earlier this year and completely loved it, so now I'm hoping to get started on some of his other works that I've yet to read. 

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

"Chapter One: At the Funeral of John Bowie

Harrows, situated at the northernmost point of the Trail, savored its distance from the meat of the rabid road. It was easily the most affluent town in both counties; the homes of Harrows were larger, often constructed of stately stone, some with as many as ten bedrooms. The garden yards were as wide as the fabled Trail itself, some roofs as high as the willows. Even better: Harrows enjoyed more sunlight than the other towns, as the shadows cast by the arching of those willows concluded where the wheat fields began, just south of the border. Sunny and secluded, remote and rich, Harrows was a very desirable place to live. 

But that didn’t preclude its citizens from dying. 

John Bowie found this out the bad way."

I loved Malerman's Bird Box and I thought the premise of this book was really intriguing, so I was excited to jump into this one. 

Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to turn off adblock to see it!)

*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Patriot Number One by Lauren Hilgers & One Way by S.J. Morden

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

I always have endless books that I want to read, as most book lovers tend to have, but right now I feel like I have so many books that I want/need to read right now and it's a bit overwhelming. Thus, today First Chapter First Paragraph is a double feature, starring Patriot Number One and One Way. The first, Patriot Number One, is one of my current reads, and the second, One Way, is a book I hope to pick up next! 

Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown by Lauren Hilgers

"Chapter One: Escape | 逃逸/ Táoyì

Zhuang Liehong had made three plans to get from his village in CHina to New York. In the first, the American embassy would simply send someone to pick him up. He envisioned a midnight escape--cars waiting in the shadows along the uneven, trash-filled fields on the outskirts of his village. He felt sure, when he considered the plan, that the Amerians would be sympathetic to his situation. He was a lover of democracy trapped in a corrupt corner of Guangdong Province. If the plan were to work, it would have to be secret. His friends would wake the next morning to find him vanished. By the time the news spread, he would be on a plane, heading oward a new life.

In a second plan, Zhuang would flee by sea."

Patriot Number One is "a deeply reported look at the Chinese immigrant community in the United States, casting a new light on what it means to seek the American dream"

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

One Way by S.J. Morden

Chapter One

"'Put your hands on the table.' 

Frank's hands were already cuffed together, joined by three steel links. His feet were also shackled.The seat he sat on was bolted to the ground, and the table in front of him was the same. The room was all wipe-clean surfaces. The smell of bleach was an alkaline sting in the back of his throat and on the lids of his eyes. It wasn't as if he could go anywhere or do anything, but he still complied with the order. Slowly, he raised his hands from his lap, feeling the drag of metal biting in his skin, and lowered them onto the black vinyl covering the table. There was a large hole drilled in it. Another length of chain was run through the circle made by his cuffed arms and into the back. His guard put a padlock on it, and went to stand by the door they'd both entered through."

One Way: "When the small crew of ex cons working on Mars start getting murdered, everyone is a suspect in this terrifying science fiction thriller from bona fide rocket scientist and award winning-author S. J. Morden."

Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to turn off adblock to see it!)

*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

I've been wanting to read Bird Box for a long time now, a desire which I recently shared that desire in my winter reading plans post. Well, I'm hoping to pick it up extremely soon from my library, so here is a sneak at the first paragraph(s)!

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

This excerpt can be found at Tor.com.

"Malorie stands in the kitchen, thinking. 

Her hands are damp. She is trembling. She taps her toe nervously on the cracked tile floor. It is early; the sun is probably only peeking above the horizon. She watches its meager light turn the heavy window drapes a softer shade of black and thinks, 

That was a fog. The children sleep under chicken wire draped in black cloth down the hall. Maybe they heard her moments ago on her knees in the yard. Whatever noise she made must have traveled through the microphones, then the amplifiers that sat beside their beds. 

She looks to her hands and detects the subtlest sheen in the candlelight. Yes, they are damp. The morning’s dew is still fresh upon them."

Buy the book!

What do you think? Would you keep reading this book? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

I've had my eye on this book since before I featured it for a Waiting on Wednesday post back in March, so I was beyond thrilled when I opened up a package the other day and this book was staring back at me! I'm already around almost 200 pages in and I'm loving it so far. Be sure to check out the excerpt and let me know what you think. :)

A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

This excerpt can be found at Penguin Random House.

Day 1:

The  Bard Begins

"When we encounter a voice that moves us on an emotional level, by turns wringing tears from our eyes and plucking laughs from our bellies, there is an ineffable quality to its power: all we know is that we like listening to it and want to hear more. But when we encounter voices we find loathsome, we usually can pinpoint why without difficulty: too nasal, too whiny, too steeped in anger or sodden with melancholy. 

The bard's voice the ineffable sort." 

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Once and Future King by T.H. White

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature The Once a Future King by T.H. White! I'm int he mood to finally crack open this classic, and I am rather excited to do so. I feel like since I'm such a huge fantasy fan, I should go back to some of the classics that I've been wanting to read but haven't -- and no time like the present, right? I hope to start this one as soon as I finish up Gregory Maguire's upcoming book Hiddensee. 

(also, I chose to feature those two covers because they are some of my favorites! I own the yellow Penguin copy that is gorgeous, but I am also a huge fan of the other)

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

ONE

"On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology. The governess was always getting muddled with her astrolabe, and when she got specially muddled she would take it out of the Wart by rapping his knuckles. She did not rap Kay’s knuckles, because when Kay grew older he would be Sir Kay, the master of the estate. The Wart was called the Wart because it more or less rhymed with Art, which was short for his real name. Kay had given him the nickname. Kay was not called anything but Kay, as he was too dignified to have a nickname and would have flown into a passion if anybody had tried to give him one. The governess had red hair and some mysterious wound from which she derived a lot of prestige by showing it to all the women of the castle, behind closed doors. It was believed to be where she sat down, and to have been caused by sitting on some armour at a picnic by mistake. Eventually she offered to show it to Sir Ector, who was Kay’s father, had hysterics and was sent away. They found out afterwards that she had been in a lunatic hospital for three years."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Waking Land by Callie Bates

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature The Waking Land by Callie Bates! I was so thrilled when this ARC showed up in the mail because I have been seeing some fantastic things about this book, not to mention how interesting it sounds. Fortunately I am able to share an excerpt of this with you because there is already a a preview of the book up on the Penguin Random House website. So without further ado, I present to you the beginning of the Prologue from The Waking Land.

The Waking Land by Callie Bates

Prologue

"I felt safe that night in Laon, safer than I had any night before in the city. My nurse and I were eating dessert in the nursery. I never knew her name; I called her Nursie. Downstairs my parents were hosting a dinner party. It was the first time I had ever been in Laon, in the townhouse my family kept for state occasions, aired out only once every year or two. On the newly crowned king’s invitation, we’d come south for the Harvest Feast from our country house in the north, and every noise of the city still seemed foreign. So that must have been why we didn’t hear them at first: the screams, the clicks as the muskets caught.

I remember cradling my wooden doll, a Harvest Feast gift from my parents, made by a wood-carver in the city. I was feeding her pretend bites of the caramel pudding the servants had brought up earlier, baked in a dish until the sugar on top was crackling hot. Nursie drew the chintz curtains over the wide, sashed windows. My doll and I sat snug and certain in the glow of candlelight. Safe. We were supposed to go home the next day."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: China Dolls by Lisa See

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature China Dolls by Lisa See! I'm about three-quarters of the way through and have been really enjoying this book about three women set in 1940s San Francisco and the many struggles they face as Chinese American and Japanese American citizens. So far, I have found this entire book to be extremely difficult to put down and am really enjoying so far. 

China Dolls by Lisa See

Part One: The Sun

 October 1938–July 1940 

Grace

 A Measly Girl

"I traveled west—-alone—-on the cheapest bus routes I could find. Every mile took me farther from Plain City, Ohio, where I’d been a flyspeck on the wallpaper of small--town life. Each new state I passed through loosened another rope around my heart, my legs, my arms, yet my whole body ached and I couldn’t shake my vertigo. I lived on aspirin, crackers, and soda pop. I cried and cried and cried. On the eighth day, California. Many hours after crossing the boundary,I got off the bus and pulled my sweater a little more tightly around me. I expected sun and warmth, but on that October afternoon, fog hung over San Francisco, damp, and shockingly cold.

Picking up my suitcase, I left the bus station and started to walk. The receptionists at the cheap hotels I visited told me they were full. “Go to Chinatown,” they suggested. “You can get a room there.” I had no idea where Chinatown was, so that didn’t help me. And I’ll say this about San Francisco: lots of hills, water on practically every side, and, it seemed to me, not a single street ran purely in any one direction. Finally, a man at a fleabag took my money—adollar a day, in advance—and gave me a key to a room."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature The Empire's Ghost by Isabella Steiger, which actually comes out today! I've just about finished my ARC and will actually have a review up for it next week. This is a brand new high fantasy series and I have been really enjoying it. 

The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

Prologue

The last time it snowed, Roger took a bundle of firewood and some biscuits to the Dragon’s Head.

The streets of Sheath Alleys were perpetually dank, as narrow and twisting as a guilty thought— and they inspired many, as Roger knew all too well. It was as if Valyanrend itself fled to Sheath to escape its past, to disappear into the shadows as so many of its citizens had done. For the city, at least, it was a lost cause. 

Chapter One

“You’re not feeding those birds again, are you?” Morgan called, and Seth started. He hadn’t realized she was awake. He tried to kick the crusts out of sight, but Morgan was already opening the door, squinting into the sun.

Valyanrend’s districts tended to be jumbled and haphazard more often than not, but the streets of Sheath seemed especially capricious, as if they’d been designed to make no sense.

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

Chapter 1

"Akari Sun Dragon had long since flown down beyond the horizon in search of his lost love, and the night unfurled velvet soft. A hundred girls and half again as many women had left Shahad at daybreak and traveled tot he Madraj, the meeting-places of all the prides.

Sulema stood tall among her yearmates, surrounded by Ja'Akari, warriors stern-faced and proud. When next the sun rose, she would be one of them. It was the fist day of spring in her seventeenth year, and the last day of her childhood."

I was finally able to start on this one a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it! It took me a little while to get into this one, simply because new epic fantasy books always take a bit of adjusting, but now I'm going strong

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Severina by Rodrigo Rey Rosa

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Severina by Rodrigo Rey Rosa

Chapter 1

What power has love but forgiveness? —William Carlos Williams, "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower,"  Book 3

 "I noticed her the first time she came in the store, and right from the start I picked her for a thief, although that day she didn't take anything. 

On Monday afternoons there were usually poetry readings at La Entretenida, the bookstore I'd recently opened with a group of friends. We didn't have anything better to do and we were tired of paying through the nose for books chosen by and for others, as "eccentrics" like us are forced to do in provincial cities. (There are far more serious problems here, but I don't want to talk about all that now.) So, to put an end to this annoyance, we decided to start our own store."*

Rodrigo Rey Rosa is a prominent Guatemalen writer, and since I don't believe I've ever read any literature from Guatemala, I thought this sounded like a great book to start! This is a short book, more of a novella, in which the narrator -- a bookseller -- tracks the novels a young woman steals and tries to figure out more about her based upon the books she takes. I am rather excited to finish this one up, it sounds wonderfully intriguing. 

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - A Fantasy Classic!

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time #1)

Chapter 1

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Born below the ever cloud-capped peaks that gave the mountains their name, the wind blew east, out across the Sand Hills, once the shore of a great ocean, before the Breaking of the World. Down it flailed into the Two Rivers, into the tangled forest called the Westwood, and beat at two men walking with a cart and horse down the rock-strewn track called the Quarry Road. For all that spring should have come a good month since, the wind carried an icy chill as if it would rather bear snow."

So, The Eye of the World is hardly a new book, but I've had it on my TBR for years now, and I am finally going to dive in. I have heard countless incredible things about the The Wheel of Time series, and so far I am really enjoying this book!

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Double Feature ft. Wolf in White Van by Josh Darnielle + The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

Chapter 1

"My father used to carry me down the hall to my room after I came home from the hospital. By then I could walk if I had to, but the risk of falling was too great, so he carried me like a child. It’s a cluster memory now: it consists of every time it happened and is recalled in a continuous loop. He did it every day, for a long time, from my first day back until what seemed like a hundred years later, and after a while, the scene blurred into innumerable interchangeable identical scenes layered one on top of the other like transparencies."

I'd had my eye on this book for quite a while before I finally decided to pick it, and I'm certainly glad I did! At this point, I'm not about 3/4 of the way in and I am just completely enraptured Darnielle's style and storytelling. This is a different sort of book, but it is right up my alley.

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Chapter 1

"This is how I kill someone.

I learn his habits, I know his schedule. It is not difficult. His life consists of quick stops to the dollar store for the bare minimum of things required to keep this ragged cycle going, his hat pulled down over his eyes so as not to be recognized.

But he is. It’s a small town.

I watch these little exchanges. They evolve in seconds, from I get paid to smile at you to the facial muscles going lax when recognition hits, the price scanner making a feeble attempt to break the silence by making a beep-beep when his food goes past."

I've always been reading this incredible book known as The Female of the Species and it is incredible, so I had to share it as well. 

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Prologue

"It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men.

From the forward aspect of the convent you can see both the northern ice and the southern, but the finer view is out across the plateau and over the narrow lands. On a clear day the coast may be glimpsed, the Sea of Marn a suggestion in blue. 

At some point in an achingly long history a people, now lost to knowledge, had built one thousand and twenty-four pillars on the plateau, Corinthian giants thicker than a thousand-year oak, taller than a long-pine. A forest of stone without order or pattern, covering the level ground from flank to flank such that no spot upon it lay more than twenty yards from a pillar. Sister Thorn waited amid this forest, alone and seeking her centre."

If you want to know about Red Sister, check out the synopsis on Goodreads!

I was so fortunate to receive an ARC of this highly anticipated beginning of Mark Lawrence's new fantasy trilogy, and I am loving it so far! I'm only ~150 pages in, but I am definitely hooked and can't wait to find out how the rest of the story ends.

I really wanted to post the beginning of the first chapter along with the prologue, but since it is an ARC and I haven't seen any chapter excerpts around the internet, I'll stick to what is already out there. :)

Red Sister will be published April 4th, 2017 by Ace Publishing.

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: What is the What by Dave Eggers

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

What is the What by Dave Eggers

Preface

"What is the What is the soulful account of my life: from the time I was separate from my family in Marial Bai to the thirteen years I spent in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps, to my encounter with vibrant Western cultures beginning in Atlanta, to the generosity and the challenges that I encountered elsewhere. As you read this book, you will learn about  me and my beloved people of Sudan. I was just a young boy when the twenty-two-year civil war began that pitted Sudan's government against the Sudan's People Liberation Movement/Army. As a helpless human, I survived by trekking across many punishing landscapes while being bombed by Sudanese air forces, while dodging land mines, while being preyed upon by wild beasts and human killers."

Chapter 1

"I have no reason not to answer the door so I answer the door. I have no tiny round window to inspect visitors so I open the door and before me is a tall, sturdily built African-American woman, a few years older than me, wearing a red nylon sweatsuit. She speaks to me loudly. "You have a phone, sir?"

She looks familiar. I am almost certain that I saw her in the parking lot an hour ago, when I returned from the convenience store. I saw her standing by the stairs, and I smiled at her. I tell her that I do have a phone.

"My car broke down on the street," she says. Behind her, it is nearly night. I have been studying most of the afternoon. "Can you let me use your phone to call the police?" she asks."

(Note: I decided to add a preview of the preface as well in order to give a bit of background to what this book is all about.)

I'm actually just wrapping this one up -- I'll probably finish today -- but I've been dying to share it with people! This is such a gripping story that is written in a really interesting way. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the style, but it's been working really well. I definitely recommend it! 

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.