Kitchen Remodel, Week Twenty-Six: Hard at Work

We are down to the last bits of kitchen remodeling. The brick we've waited for for months finally got here. Most impressively, the guys who came to put  the concrete cap on top of the bricks arrived at 8:00 a.m. and were still here a little before 10:00 p.m. when I took this picture.

 

Meanwhile, the four books I'm reading this week are all great but have nothing to do with food: 

• Letting Go by Philip Roth (his first novel):
• What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies;
• Because He Could by Dick Morris; and
• Tales From St. Austin by P. G. Wodehouse

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

GIVEAWAY WINNER & Book Beginning: What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

GIVEAWAY:  Big thanks to everyone who participated in this week's giveaway for
Cleans Up Nicely by Linda Dahl, a new novel about the 1970s art scene in New York City.  The two lucky winners are Laurel-Rain Snow at Rainy Days & Mondays and Story Corner, and Tammi at Picture Perfect Cooking.

EARLY BIRDS: I am experimenting with getting this post up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. We'll try it this way for a couple of months to see if people like the option of early posting. If you have feelings one way or the other, please comment.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY: Please leave a link to your post below. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.



MY BOOK BEGINNING



"The book must be dropped."

-- What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies.

This is the second book in his "Cornish Trilogy," following The Rebel Angels. The trilogy concludes with The Lyre of Orpheus. The three books are separate stories but all related to the life and influence of Francis Cornish, an eccentric Canadian art collector.

I have been slow to get to Robertson Davies, despite recommendations I would normally jump on. Several of his books have sat on my TBR shelf for years. The basis of my reluctance is insubstantial -- I was put off by the cover art of this book and others and by his author's picture. How could someone who looks like an Oregon Trail pioneer write a book that I would enjoy?

But I took the plunge with The Rebel Angels and enjoyed it -- loved it for the most part and was put off by a couple of atrocious set pieces that took time to recover from. My review is here. What's Bred in the Bone has me sucked in and I hope to devote much of the upcoming weekend to it.

What Are They Reading? Letting Go by Philip Roth

Authors tend to be readers, so it is natural for them to create characters who like to read.  It is always interesting to me to read what books the characters are reading in the books I read. Even if I can't say that ten times fast.

Usually, the characters' choice of books reflects the author's tastes or, I sometimes think, what the author was reading at the time.  But sometimes the character's reading material is a clue to the character's personality, or is even a part of the story. 

This is an occasional blog event. If anyone wants to join in, feel free to leave a comment with a link to your related post. And feel free to use the button.  If this catches on, I can pick a day and make it a weekly event.

LETTING GO BY PHILIP ROTH

Letting Go was Roth's first novel, published when he was only 29, but after he won the National Book Award (for the first time) for Goodbye, Columbus (reviewed here).

Letting Go catches flak for being long and more traditional than Roth's later books.  I am only about halfway through it and I don't care how long it is. I want it to go on and on.

Letting Go is the story of Gabe Wallach, a college professor, and his relationship with Paul and Libby Herz, from when they meet at graduate school in Iowa and then work together in Chicago.  The main plot is broken into side stories and set pieces, including those about Gabe's father, Paul's parents, and Gabe's girlfriend Martha.

Since Gabe and Paul are both English professors, it is no surprise that the characters in Letting Go read and talk about books.  Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady plays a big role in the first section of the book, as Gabe and Libby build an awkward, sexually charged friendship out of their discussions of James's masterpiece. 

 

Teaser Tuesday & GIVEAWAY Reminder: Cleans Up Nicely by Linda Dahl

By Wednesday, all she can think about is the paycheck on Friday night. She gives up being "good," bringing a bottle of rum and a can of Coke in a bag along with her sandwiches.

-- Cleans Up Nicely by Linda Dahl. 

THE BOOK: "When twenty-something artist Erica Mason moves from laidback Mexico to Manhattan in the mid-1970s, she finds a hard-edged, decadent, and evolving art scene. Her life there leads her to a self-destructive string of affairs with men, alcohol, and drugs – but also, ultimately, to the self-respect that has long eluded her."

The mid-70s New York scene is fascinating, even though watching the heroine on her train wreck is gut-wrenching.  But I know things are going to work out -- I read the blurb above!

THE GIVEAWAY:  I have TWO copies of the finished paperback edition of Cleans Up Nicely to give away to TWO lucky book bloggers. Go to the GIVEAWAY PAGE for details and to sign up.

PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP FOR THE GIVEAWAY HERE. GO TO THIS PAGE.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday this holiday weekend! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

Kathy at Bermuda Onion stepped in to host in August -- thanks, Kathy!

I got two books last week, both Lee Child Jack Reacher books.  I was pleased as punch to get a copy of his brand new one from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.  Then I figured out from my mom (another Reacher Creature) that I had missed one. So I ordered that one immediately.



Never Go Back, the brand new one.

 

A Wanted Man, which comes before Never Go Back.  This one was published after The Affair, but chronologically comes right after Worth Dying For.  The Affair goes back to Reacher's military days.