Opening Sentence of the Day: The Fire

"Solarin gripped his little daughter's mittened hand firmly in his own."

-- The Fire by Katherine Neville

 Neville wrote the precursor to this book, The Eight, in 1988. I haven't read that one, but this is supposed to be OK as a stand alone. It is also being heralded as the next Da Vinci Code, which gives me mixed feelings.

16 Days to Christmas

Teaser Tuesday: The Italian Lover

It was going to be a difficult shot, a huge scene to mount, and she still didn't have written permission to use the piazza, though the mayor, whom she'd taken to lunch at Cibreo, with Franco Bevilacqua and Michael, had promised that there would be no difficulties.

And they still had the sex scenes to do, and they'd have to be careful because they couldn't release the film with an NC-17 rating.

-- The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga

I picked this teaser because this book is about making a movie. If you aren't interested in how movies get made, this book won't be interesting to you. I'm trying to expand my brain to take an interest, but I find myself reading through this quickly. I love the parts about being in Italy, but I am not drawn into the story.

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

17 Days to Christmas

Mailbox Monday

Only one book came into my house last week for Mailbox Monday (other than Christmas gifts for other people).

Bend Sinister by Vladamir Nabokov

This was his first novel published in America (I think I read that right). I want to read more of his books, because when I read them, I love them. I was a little frustrated by Lolita because I couldn't catch all the references and word jokes, but I loved Pnin and Pale Fire is permanently on my Top 10 list of all-time favorites.