Book Beginning: The Gods of Second Chances by Dan Berne

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

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

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Mud and rain invaded my dreams after Donna's death.

-- The Gods of Second Chances by Dan Berne, published by the up-and-coming Forest Avenue Press.

What an evocative opening sentence! 

The Gods of Second Chances is available in a Kindle edition now, and at select book stores, like Powell's.  It will be officially released March 1.  Ask your local bookstore or library to order a copy --  The Gods of Second Chances is a book to get excited about.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Family means everything to Alaskan fisherman Ray Bancroft, raising his granddaughter while battling storms, invasive species, and lawsuit-happy tourists. To navigate, and to catch enough crab to feed her college fund, Ray seeks help from a multitude of gods and goddesses—not to mention ad-libbed rituals performed at sea by his half-Tlingit best friend.

But kitchen counter statues and otter bone ceremonies aren’t enough when his estranged daughter returns from prison, swearing she’s clean and sober. Her search for a safe harbor threatens everything Ray holds sacred. Set against a backdrop of ice and mud and loss, Dan Berne’s gripping debut novel explores the unpredictable fissures of memory, and how families can break apart even in the midst of healing.

Five Faves: Venice Books

FIVE FAVE VENICE BOOKS

It is Carnival in Venice this week, so here is a short list of my favorite Venice books:

• The World of Venice by Jan Morris (the history and vibe of Venice -- my all time favorite)
• Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (a classic of Venice-induced lust)
• Serenissima by Erica Jong (before there was Sex and the City, there was Erica Jong; reviewed here)
• Alibi by Joseph Kanon (post-WWII Venice spy stuff) 
• About Face by Donna Leon (or any of her Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries) 

I keep a list of books set in or about Venice. Any suggestions? What are your favorites?

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along.  Use today's theme or come up with your own.  If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment.  If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Teaser Tuesday: When Patty Went Away

That space, that divide that came between us so many years ago, still weighed on Molly, and I felt she always blamed Patty over it, though Patty and Edie were only young children at the time. Molly and I never spoke of it again, but it lay there between us like something rotting.

When Patty Went Away by Jeannie Burt, published by Muskrat Press.

Jeannie Burt's debut is a literary novel with a hearty dose of mystery.  Set in eastern Oregon farm country in the 1970s, this story of a missing girl is gripping and heartbreaking.

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

Review: The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry

The Difficult Sister is not the cozy you might suspect, given that it involves two fifty-something women on a road trip to the Oregon Coast. This second mystery by Judy Nedry is darker and edgier than its description suggests.

Emma Golden is a freelance writer with a penchant for adventure. After stumbling into a wine country murder in An Unholy Alliance, Emma is back in Portland and back on the wagon, ready to snuggle in for a quiet winter. But when her best friend comes to her, distraught over not hearing from her sister Aurora in weeks, Emma is game to leave a cold and soggy Portland, jump into Melody’s Mini Cooper, and head to the beach.

What they find is a coastal community divided between rich part-time residents and tourists and the year-round locals struggling to make a living or dropping off the grid. They soon realized that Aurora’s disappearance can’t be attributed to whim or her restless spirit. Something much more terrifying is going on and Aurora isn’t the only woman missing from her sleepy little beach town.

OTHER REVIEWS AND POSTS 

The New Book Journal reviews The Difficult Sister
The Hartford Books Examiner interviews Judy Nedry
Don't Need a Diagram interviews Judy Nedry

If you would like your review of The Difficult Sister listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it. 

NOTES

Judy Nedry is the author of two nonfiction books about Northwest wine and co-founded Northwest Palate magazine. The Emma Golden books are her first works of fiction.

Book Beginning: When Patty Went Away

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

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.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

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

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

I used to think if you didn't take a breath, or didn't blink, or didn't make any other kind of move, nothing would ever change, and you could hold onto that moment and that day, and you could count on it.

When Patty Went Away by Jeannie Burt, published by Muskrat Press.

Jeannie Burt's debut novel takes place in 1976, in eastern Oregon wheat country.  When a local teenager goes missing, no one seems to care except for Jack, the father of the girl's only friend.  Although Jack is struggling to keep his farm afloat and his family together, he sets out to find the missing girl.