Mailbox Monday

Three nifty books came my way last week. What about you?



Light of the Northern Dancers by Robin F. Gainey. This historical tale finds Scottish aristocrat, Eden Rose, struggling to survive on her Wyoming ranch, abandoned by her ne'er-do-well husband, searching in the Bighorn mountains for her missing brother, and turning to help from her best friend, Maddie True, and a Lakota holy man.



Smugglers & Scones by Morgan C. Talbot. This is the first in Talbot's Moorehaven Mysteries series, featuring Pippa Winterbourne, amateur sleuth and owner of a bed-and-breakfast/writers' retreat on the Oregon coast.



Dining and Driving with Cats: Alice Unplugged by Pat Patterson. This is a true-life story of a husband and wife road trip from Mexico, across the US South -- with cats. It is, as the title suggests, mostly about the food and restaurants along the way, and the Kindle edition has links to the places mentioned in the book.

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.

Book Beginning: From a View to a Death by Anthony Powell

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

They drove uncertainly along the avenue that led to the house, through the bars of light that fell between the tree trunks and made shadows of the lime-trees strike obliquely across the gravel. The nave-blue car was built high off the ground and the name on its bonnet recalled a bankrupt, forgotten firm of motor-makers.

-- From a View to a Death by Anthony Powell.

Good thing I don’t read with a highlighter because I’d be tempted to mark up every page, this book is so funny. Droll is a better word. I actually snorted on the plane the other day when something caught me so by surprise.

I’m a huge Anthony Powell fan, as his opus Dance to the Music of Time is my “desert island” book. Kind of a cheat, I know, since it is really 12 books.

The title for this book comes from a song and is a fox hunting reference. Princess Margaret said the same line in an episode of The Crown in season two, "From a view to a death in the morning."

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, Instagram, 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.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Teaser Tuesday: The Days When Birds Come Back by Deborah Reed

“It’ll be ready in about forty-five minutes,“ he said, walking past her, and it sounded as if her were giving her a hint, implying that she figure this thing out by the time he put food on the table. And then he guessed that that was what he meant, but wished he hadn’t meant it, so he stepped back and kissed her on the cheek to soften what he’d said and how he’d said it, but he could see she knew all about that kiss, and barely raised her face to meet his lips.

-- The Days When Birds Come Back by Deborah Reed. I loved this book.

It is the story of June Byrne, who returns to her grandparents' home on the Oregon coast, in recovery and to recover from her broken marriage. She hires Jamison Winters to restore the bungalow, not knowing that his life is also a wreck. It's a beautiful story of grief and kindness and love.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Book Notes: The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats

In his last book, The Ancient Minstrel, Jim Harrison described reading Yeats’ poetry at 18 as being guillotined.

W.B. Yeats died on this date in 1939, at the age of 73. He had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

My personal favorite is "For Anne Gregory," one I’ve kept in my desk drawer since college, with the lines, “Only God, my dear, could love you for yourself alone, and not your yellow hair.” I take it as a wry reminder of the fallibility of man.

My New Year’s resolution was to read a poem a day from Yeats’ Collected Poems. I keep the book at work, so I haven’t read one every day, but I’m making progress.

Book Beginning: Bel, Book and Scandal by Maggie McConnon

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

I was wet, cold, and tired, but despite the fact that she was ready to kill me with her bare hands for staying out all night, my mother addressed all three of my immediate needs before saying anything else.

Bel, Book and Scandal by Maggie McConnon. That's a snappy beginning to what looks like a fun new cozy mystery, the third featuring Bel McGrath, an Irish-American wedding chef and amateur sleuth.

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, Instagram, 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.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING