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.
This week I am starting Dancing For Degas by Kathryn Wagner with the hope that it will be as good a story as The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. The book is supposed to transport readers to Paris where a young ballerina is painted by Edgar Degas, falls in love with him and is drawn into Paris's secrets.
Here's the first paragraph after the introduction:
I wasn't always filled with such anxiety. The inescapable need for perfection was cultivated during many years of training -- just as my body was strengthened to complete a flawless pirouette, my mind underwent vigorous instruction until I believed that I was better than all others and entitled to nothing short of the riches of an empress. Yet it was no secret that I could be dethroned without a second thought. My success was nothing but an illusion, which I find especially ironic because I was not born into such complications. I sought them out.
What do you think? My reading time is limited these days. Would you pick up this book?
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