Teaser Tuesday: Second Honeymoon by Joanna Trollope

Ben was her youngest, her last. When the others went, she had felt a pang, but there had always been Ben, there had always been the untidy, demanding, gratifying, living proof that she was doing what she was meant to do, that she was doing something no one else could do.

-- Second Honeymoon by Joanna Trollope. I always enjoy Joanna Trollope's books and this long holiday weekend was the perfect time to read one.

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

Mailbox Memorial Day Monday: Nonfiction by Philip Roth

Inspired by reading the memorials to Philip Roth, I got a Library of America edition of his collected nonfiction.



Why Write? by Philip Roth.

This omnibus edition contains several essays from the second edition of Reading Myself and Others (1985); the complete book, Shop Talk (2001); and 14 additional nonfiction pieces never collected before, including six never published before.

Roth is one of my favorite authors. I happened to be finishing The Professor of Desire the day he died. I'm working my way through his bibliography.


What new books came into your house last week?

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 Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.

Happy Memorial Day!

YIKES! The 2017 European Reading Challenge Winner Finally Announced

I just realized I forgot to announce the winner of last year's European Reading Challenge! What a dolt!

THIS IS THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT POST FOR 2017

TO FIND THE 2017 REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO FIND THE 2017 WRAP UP POSTS, GO TO THIS PAGE

THE 2018 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE SIGN UP PAGE IS AT THIS PAGE 

2017 was the sixth year for this challenge, which involves reading books set in different European countries or written by authors from different European countries.

Big thanks to all the participants who joined me for the Grand Tour!

JET SETTER GRAND PRIZE WINNER

The 2017 Jet Setter prize goes to Audrey, who participated in the challenge through Goodreads! Audrey visited 30 different European countries and posted links to her Goodreads reviews. She posted her list of countries in a comment on the wrap up post page.

Honorary Mention (but no prizes) go to eight other participants who posted wrap up posts on the Wrap Up page because I appreciate these posts very much for making my job of figuring out the winner so much easier! For "Honorary Mention," the number of books counted is the number of unique countries.

• Maphead (18 books)
• Howling Frog Books (12 books)
• My Reader's Block (11 books)
• Introspective Yarns (10 books)
• Darlene's Book Nook (9 books)
• Musings, Mischief, and Mayhem (9 books)
• One Catholic Life (6 books)
• Canadian Bookworm (5 books)
• Caroline Bookbinder (5 books)
• St. Clement's Daughter (3 books)

My own wrap-up post is here. I read 13 books from different European countries, and four were translations, which is progress for me. But I didn't review any of the books I read because last year was crazy busy for me at my law practice.

Congratulations to all the readers who completed the challenge! There is still plenty of time to join us in 2018.

JOIN THE 2018 CHALLENGE! SIGN UP HERE

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

Sign up HERE for the 2018 Challenge.

Book Beginning: Seasons of Doubt by Jeannie Burt

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The stove almost warmed the room, though damp from the last storm still sat in it. Mary Harrington stirred a dull gravy as her five-year-old son slathered lard on a biscuit.

The Seasons of Doubt by Jeannie Burt. It's the winter of 1873, and when her husband abandons Mary and their son in a sod house on the Nebraska prairie, she doesn't know if he will ever return, or even if he is still alive.

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