Book Beginnings On Fridays (The Summer Son)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

My Book Beginning is The Summer Son by Craig Lancaster. I loved 600 Hours Of Edward and Edward Adrift which are both by the same author and I'm pleased to say that so far this one is also very good (at the time of writing this post I'm 14% in).

 

 

The first call came on Tuesday night. I yelled at Cindy from the garage to pick up. On the fourth ring, I dropped the armful of newspapers I was packing into the recycling bin and ran to the extension in the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Mitch"

My guts coiled.  

 

 

 

Book Description:

He owed a lot of people, but I was the only one left to collect. I told myself that I didn’t care about him, only about what he owed me, whatever that was.

I even tried to believe it.

When Mitch Quillen’s life begins to unravel, he fears there is no escape. His marriage and his career are both failing, and his relationship with his father has been a disaster for decades. Approaching forty, Mitch doesn’t want to become a middle-aged statistic. When his estranged father, Jim, suddenly calls, Mitch’s wife urges him to respond. Ready for a change, Mitch heads to Montana and a showdown that will alter the course of his life. Amid a backdrop of rugged peaks and valleys, the story unfolds: a violent episode that triggered the rift, thirty years of miscommunication, and the possibility of misplaced blame. In Craig Lancaster’s powerful novel, The Summer Son, readers are invited into a family where conflict and secrets prevail, and where hope for healing and redemption is possible. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

I haven't been reading as much as I normally do recently. As I mentioned in last week's post I gave up on a book and this week after finishing The Honk And The Holler Opening Soon (which I enjoyed) I wasn't sure what to start next. I was going to take a few days break when I remembered I had Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani sitting on my shelf, picked it up to read a few pages and loved it so carried on. I'm taking my time reading it and not forcing myself to get it finished quickly, I often get through at least two novels a week and I think I subconsciously put myself under pressure to continue with this. It can very occasionally make reading feel like a chore rather than a pleasurable activity. I've also stopped requesting ARCs for the time being for exactly he same reason. I want to read and enjoy a book without having to think what I'm going to say about it, if I want to review one great but if not I won't have to.

 

I've been busy as well because my youngest daughter had her 10th birthday, where has the time gone! She was very excited and we had a great week which included a meal out at a restaurant of her choice.

 

 

Book Blogger Hop (11th - 17th July)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is:

 

Do you read books in translation? What are the last 3 books in translation you read?

 

I do read books that have been translated into English. A couple of the last 3 I've read are also two of my favourite books, Beside The Sea by Veronique Olmi and The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. I also enjoy Niccolo Ammaniti's novels. 

 

 

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Big Stone Gap)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

 

This will be a good weekend for reading. I picked up a dozen of Vernie Crabtree's killer chocolate chip cookies at the French Club bake sale yesterday. (I don't know what she puts in them, but they're chewy and crispy at the same time.) Those, a pot of coffee, and a good book are all I will need for the rainy weekend rolling in.

 

 

 

Book Description:

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist with a "mountain girl's body and a flat behind." She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she's not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave's fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetime-a trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever. Brimming with humor and wise notions of small-town life, "Big Stone Gap" is a gem of a book with a giant heart. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

This week I finished Her by Harriet Lane, a psychological thriller that I won in a competition from the publisher. I then started The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August by Claire North, I've loved other books on a similar theme such as Replay by Ken Grimwood and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson so had been looking forward to this one. It started well but unfortunately by the time I'd got about 30% in I lost interest. It's well written and has had plenty of good reviews but just isn't for me so I've given up on it. I do try and finish a book but believe that life is too short to spend time reading something that I'm not enjoying. I'm now reading The Honk And The Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts and I'm pleased to say this is holding my interest.

 

   

Book Beginnings On Fridays (The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August by Claire North)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August by Claire North

 

The second cataclysm began in my eleventh life, in 1996. I was dying my usual death, slipping away in a warm morphine haze, which she interrupted like an ice cube down my spine.

 

  

 

Book Description:

  Harry August is on his deathbed. Again.

Every time Harry dies, he is reborn in exactly the same time and place, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before.

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, and nothing ever changes. He only knows that there are others like him, living with but apart from the rest of us.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. 'I nearly missed you, Doctor August,' she says. 'I need to send a message. It has come down from child to adult, child to adult, passed back through generations from a thousand years forward in time. The message is that the world is ending, and we cannot prevent it. So now it's up to you.'

This is the story of what Harry August does next - and what he did before - and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow. 

 

 

 

Mother Island by Bethan Roberts

 

 

Loner Maggie has been earning a living as a Nanny since dropping out of University. She's now working for her cousin Nula in Oxford, arriving at her house every morning to look after two year old Samuel while both his parents go out to work full time.  One day Maggie takes Samuel, grabbing just a few items of his clothing along with his change bag before heading to Anglesey where she lived as a teenager.

The book doesn't have chapters but is split into sections which move between the present day and the past, when Nula was staying with Maggie's family during the summer holidays. We learn about Maggie's brother Joe, parents Fiona and Alan, and her Uncle Ralph (Nula's Dad) as well as obviously Maggie and Nula themselves.

As with all the author's previous books I found this to be a well written, compelling read that I got through quickly. I was desperate to find out the reasons behind Maggie abducting her young nephew and clues to this are hinted at throughout the story which kept my interest from beginning to end.

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a copy in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4 out of 5