Opening Sentence of the Day: Corked

"When it comes to champagne and our family, my father has only one absolute rule:  We do not drink it when we are sad."

Corked by Kathryn Borel.

This didn't get very good reviews, but I am going into it with an open mind. I love the cover and the idea of driving through French wine country appeals to me. We'll see how it goes. Good first sentence at least.

Influence

This week's Booking Through Thursday question asks:

Are your book choices influenced by friends and family? Do their recommendations carry weight for you? Or do you choose your books solely by what you want to read?

My close personal friends, Messrs. Booker, Pulitzer, and Black, influence my book choices more than anyone.

Being a compulsive "list" reader, it is hard for me to change course and move into uncharted literary waters. There are so many books already on my TBR shelf that won some prize or made it onto a "Must Read" list that it is hard to get my attention for anything else.

There are a couple of exceptions. My parents and sister pass on books that they finished that they think I would like and I usually take those. And a couple of my girlfriends give me books that I always read. In fact, I had a dream last night about reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society because my friend gave it to me and I'm seeing her next week.

And I will always read a book written by a friend. That's a hard and fast rule for me. It has been a little strange since I started this blog, because now I usually review the books as well as read them. I promise an honest review, so I have been lucky that I have talented friends who write good books. But the day could come when I will be in an awkward spot. If that happens, I'll skip the review.

Here is a partial list of very good books by friends that I've read recently:

Water the Bamboo by Greg Bell (reviewed here)



A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun (reviewed here)

The Age of Reagan (Vol. II): The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980 - 1989 by Steven Hayward (reviewed here)




Lost in Translation and The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones (reviewedhere and here)



The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen's Guide by Sally Pipes (reviewed here)



Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites by Mitchell Stevens (which was really fascinating and engaging and I live with guilt because I forgot to review it but I will one of these days)

Teaser Tuesday: The Red Tent

"Then Inna told Bilhah to take Rachel's place so she could catch the baby; perhaps the birth blood would rouse Rachel's womb to fill again, too. And so Rachel washed in the river of life."

-- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

Ack! It's passages like this -- and there are lots of them -- that make me squirm like a pre-pubescent girl in junior high health class. Apparently I am not mature enough or enough in touch with my womanhood to enjoy this book.

I find that if I skim over all the parts about childbirth and menstruation, the story is very interesting. But a lot of the book is about childbirth and menstruation. It's hard to avoid. That's what the whole "Red Tent" thing is all about -- where the women go to breed and bleed.

And I thought the Old Testiment itself was gruesome.


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

Mailbox Monday

Two books did come into my house last week in time for Mailbox Monday and In My Mailbox.  I got Roger's Version by John Updike and Passing On by Penelope Lively, both from Second Glance Books.

But my long list is the box of books I culled from my sister's garage sale inventory last week, most out of the hands of early bird customers who wouldn't wait for me to get the books out of the boxes. I warned them that I had first dibs on anything they found.

It is a crazy mixed up batch of books, including some I wanted to read, some that had sentimental connotations, and some that just struck my fancy. I didn't have time to post the list last week, so here it is:

A Russian Gentleman by by Sergei Aksakov (My sister read it for a Russian history class in college, I suspect, although it is a novel.)



Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to a Great Social Life by Letitia Baldrige (Oh, the promise of the title!)


The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook by Anne Barr and Peter York (It's the British version of that 1980's classic, The Preppy Handbook. I got this for my sister when I was at school in England.)



More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow (This was the first Bellow book I ever read, but I cannot remember it so it is time for a re-read.)



Echoes by Maeve Binchy (The queen of the "Aga saga" -- I'm a big fan but have not read nearly as many as my mother and sister.)



Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle (This is an old, very pretty little edition. I've never heard of the book, but it claims to have Tristram Shandy in it's literary ancestry, so that was enough for me to want to give it a go.)

Twenty Select Colloquies of Erasmus by Erasmus (OK, so I'm not likely going to sit down with this any time soon . . . )

My Aunt Lucienne by Rose C. Feld (I have no idea what this might be, but it has a great 1950s dustjacket with a definite Auntie Mame look)

Alphabet of Love by Solar Forst (It's a novelty book, but I just love these Peter Pauper Press books.)



Her Best Known Rhymes by Mother Goose (A pretty little edition, too cute to let go.)

Bistros of Paris by Robert Hamburger (My sister used it on her frequent trips to Paris, but I suspect it will be a while before I do the same.)



Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine (This is a beautiful, old book. It's poetry in German, so it has little practical use in my house.)

Joy Street and The Royal Box, both by Frances Parkinson Keyes (My sister and I are both big fans of FPK, inspired by our mother, who read the books when she was growing up.)

In Celebration of Wine and Life by Richard Lamb (great pictures of wine-related art works)



Be Cool by Elmore Leonard (the one mystery writer my husband will read)



The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham (I know I read this, but have no memory of it at all.)



Hungry Hill and Rule Britannia, both by Daphne du Maurier (Why have I never read any of her books?)

The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch (I thought I owned this, but I didn't.)



An Italian Education: The Further Adventures of an Expatriate in Verona by Tim Parks (I read his first one, Italian Neighbors, but not this follow-up.)



Weird Tales by Edgar Allen Poe (I've read all of the stories in this, but it is really pretty, so I wanted it.)

Milan & The Lakes (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (It may be out of date, but the pictures are still inspiring.)



Hangover Cures by Ben Reed (It could come in handy!)



A Certain Smile, Dear Sarah Bernhardt, The Heart-Keeper, Lost Profile, and Those Without Shadows, all by Francoise Sagan (Who know my sister was such a Sagan fan? Apparently from her college days, given the age of the books. I am going to read them to understand more about my little sis.)



Panorama Italiano by Charles & Carlo Golino Speroni (This was an Italian textbook of my sisters, which is not very practical, but I like its vintage charm and all the pictures.)

Image of Josephine by Booth Tarkington (If I am ever in a Tarkington mood again after Alice Adams, at least I won't have to spend money.)

Challenge Update: Battle of the Prizes, American Version

Congratulations to Caitlin at chaotic compendiums for being the first participant to complete the 2010 Battle of the Prizes, American Version!

Caitlin read and reviewed the following three books for this challenge:

National Book Award - World's Fair by E.L. Doctorow (reviewed here)
Pulitzer Prize - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (reviewed here)
Double-Dipper - The Color Purple by Alice Walker (reviewed here)

She also wrote a very thoughtful wrap-up post about her three choices and the challenge.

Laura at Musings is close on Caitlin's heels. But Laura elected to read two Pulitzer winners and two National winners instead of one of each and a double-dipper. So she has one more book to go.

You can find the links to Laura's three-so-far reviews and other terrific reviews from challenge participants on the main challenge post..

Again, thanks to all the participants! And there is still plenty of time to sign up because the challenge involves reading only three books by the end of January 2010.