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.
My Beloved,
I can hear them coming up our street. It is a strange, ominous rumble. Thuds and blows. The floor aquiver under my feet. There are shouts too. Men's voices, loud and excited. The whinny of horses, the stamp of hooves. It sounds like a battle, like in that hot and dreadful July when our daughter was born, or that bloody time when the barricades went up all over the city. It smells like a battle. Stifling clouds of dust. Acrid smoke. Dirt and rubble. I know the Hotel Belfort has been destroyed, Gilbert told me. I cannot bear to think about it. I will not. I am relieved Madame Paccard is not here to see it.Well? What do you think about the opener?
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 36:
So what is it, pray, that I hoard down here with me in a battered shoe box? You are longing to know, are you not? Well, letters! Precious, precious letters. A dozen of them or so, letters that mean more to me than outfits. Your first love letters to me. Yes, I have kept them preciously, for all those year. From Maman Odette. From Violette. From...I will not say his name. I cannot...From my brother, from the Baronne de Vresse, from Madame Paccard, from Alexandrine.
Well, I'm not so sure. Maybe it's the translation. The fact that the letters mean more to her "than outfits" is not too encouraging. Sounds like she may be a little shallow. And I don't like that she keeps the precious letters "preciously." I'll probably give it a try.
What do you think?
8 comments:
I loved the opener that brought all the senses into play. I felt like I was there!
As for the teaser...a little confusing, but I almost immediately felt transported to a time when people actually wrote letters...and I felt sad that we don't write them anymore. And we don't receive them.
Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.
Yes, I actually enjoy Giffin more than Kinsella, who writes the Shopaholic books; but that author has written a more engaging book with a new protagnoist (I've Got Your Number).
As for the Shopaholic girl, she is too ditzy and superficial for my taste. The first few weren't bad, but then I hated how she passed the shopping obsession onto her daughter. That child was a total brat! lol
The sentence sounds a little wordy for me. I tend to prefer crisper prose. I do hope you enjoy it. My teasers are from Changing the Game by Jaci Burton and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Happy reading!
Great opening! Though I've seen mixed reviews on this one. I've got a vintage teaser today!
I do like that opening -- very atmospheric...enjoy (but not sure the subject matter is one you can say you enjoy???)
I wish people would still write letters! I love reading and saving letters. There's something very personal about them. Great teasers.
Precious - preciously.....hmmm Not sure but it could just be that one line lol
Enjoy. I have this on audio, but have yet to listen.
I'm not much of a period reader, but this intro sounds intriguing.
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