Tuesday, June 12, 2012

First Paragraph, Teaser Tuesday -- The Reluctant Tuscan


Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
While perusing the shelves of travel narratives, I found this book The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran. The cover looks similar to the cover of A Year in Provence, which is a book I loved. Here's the first paragraph of The Reluctant Tuscan.

I had a machete in my hand and I was thinking about using it on Henry David Thoreau. You know, that guy they made you read in school who popularized the notion that we should find solace in nature. Maybe I was doing this all wrong, but I had been hacking my way through nature all morning and all I had to show for it were blisters, sweat, and a shooting pain up my arm. I didn't think I was having a heart attack, but if I were, it would have been more amusing than dealing with a hill covered in underbrush so thick it made this little corner of Tuscany look like a Brazilian rain forest.


 Also this week is Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.
Here's mine from page 124:

There are things I'll always miss about the States, but I can say with reasonable certainty that when I return to L.A. after a long absence, and walk into Sav-On Drugs, the employees will not drop everything and rush over to me with hugs and double-cheeked kisses. Yet, this was precisely what happened when I returned from Hollywood and walked into Gilberto's Farmacia. And I had only been gone three weeks.
What do you think?

12 comments:

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Interesting snippets...I can see being drawn into this one.

Thanks for visiting my blog, and enjoy your reading.

Linda said...

I love travel memoires. I've had this one on my list for a whille and I think I will buy it.

Paulita said...

Linda, I guess that is one down side to living in France. You probably can't find books in English in the library to read.

Kathy Martin said...

Nice! Is this fiction or nonfiction. It could be either from the bits you shared. My teasers this week are from Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton and Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. Happy reading!

Paulita said...

Kathy, it's nonfiction -- a memoir. Nice life, huh?

Lady Alice said...

I really like the writing style of the author. Not the kind of book I usually ready but now I'm intrigued!

Lauren said...

Interesting! Thanks for sharing.

kayerj said...

it does sound good--and the teaser was amusing. I can't imagine walking into a store and being hugged. kaye—the road goes ever ever on

Maryellen said...

why did they miss her so much??? I'm curious how this plays out.

My teaser is on my blog: http://maryellenbrady.com

DCMetroreader said...

The intro from the first book sort of sounds like the anti-year in Provence, but yes I would keep reading.

Christine Rains said...

That first paragraph definitely grabs me! I'm not big on memoirs, but that has a lot of personality.

Michelles Paranormal Vault Of Books said...

Great one, Here is my Tuesday teaser http://concisebookreviewsbymichelle.blogspot.com/2012/06/teaser-tuesday-come-by-see-my-teaser.html

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