Archive for the ‘Teasers’ Category
Tuesday, June 11th, 2013
I have just started reading a novella called The Flute Player from an exciting young author Shawn Mihalik.
There is a real sense of ease and modesty to his writing which appeals to me.
My teaser:
All looked up in awe even though they had seen the sight many times before, and some cheered, although not too loudly, when Oliver was led by his two guides to the stage directly in the center of the village square. They quickly disappeared, however, when he opened the elegantly crafted wooden box that one of the guides handed to him..
Find out more about this book, The Flute Player by Shawn Mihalik ( Asymmetrical.co | Amazon )
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Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
At the moment I am at the mercy of the novel Mimi by Lucy Ellmann.
 I say ‘at the mercy of’ because I am finding it very difficult to put down, and would easily have read it in a single sitting had my schedule allowed.
This is Lucy Ellmann’s sixth novel, but my first experience with her work. Her writing style is bold and lyrical and really keeps you guessing. I have no idea where she is taking me but I am happy to be on the ride…
My teaser:
Gertrude was like one of those boa constrictors, those beautiful creatures people in Florida keep as pets until the thing gets too big and uncontrollable — whereupon they let it loose outside to terrorize the neighbourhood, until some jerk finally comes along and shoots it. The snake was set up for a fall from the start! …. It was Gertrude’s nature, for chrissake, to be obnoxious, and my mistake to have had anything to do with her, no matter how appealingly she sauntered up 42nd Street.
Find out more about this book, Mimi by Lucy Ellmann ( Bloomsbury | Amazon | Booktopia | Kobobooks )
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
 Dead Lions by Mick Herron is set for release on 7 May 2013 from Soho Press.
This is Herron’s seventh novel, and the second of his titles to feature the ‘slow horses’ in London’s Slough House, a place where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what’s left of their failed careers.
My teaser:
“The Spooks’ Zoo was Berlin, back when the cages had just been unlocked, and frightened thugs were pouring from the woodwork like beetles from an upturned log. At least twice a day, some sweating would-be asset was at the door claiming to have the crown jewels in a cardboard suitcase: defence details, missile capability, toxic secrets — and yet, for all the flurry of activity, the writing was on the newly dismantled Wall: everyone’s past had been blown away, but so had Dickie Bow’s future.”
I was a huge fan of the British TV series Spooks and I love a good spy novel.
Find out more about this book, Dead Lions by Mick Herron ( Amazon | Booktopia | Kobobooks )
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Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
I have just begun listening to the audio book The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton, narrated by Nicholas Bell.
 I am often wary of books that are of a philosophical bent. I love considering people’s motivations and different view points, but do not like preachy tones.
Really enjoying Alain de Botton’s musings on life so far… it is a word lover’s feast.
My teaser:
Readers who would have been capable of scepticism and prudence in other areas of their lives reverted in contact with these elements to a primordial innocence and optimism. The longing provoked by the brochure was an example, at once touching and bathetic, of how projects (and even whole lives) might be influenced by the simplest and most unexamined images of happiness; of how a lengthy and ruinously expensive journey might be set into motion by nothing more than the sight of a photograph of a palm tree gently inclining in a tropical breeze. (Chapter 1 – On Anticipation)
Find out more about this book - The Art of Travel ( Amazon | Booktopia | Kobobooks )
What are you reading right now?
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Tuesday, March 12th, 2013
I am currently reading a gorgeous chunky novel, The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth, historical fiction imagining the life of Dortchen Wild, the girl who lived next door to the young Brothers Grimm, fairytale scholars in early 1800s Germany.
Aussie author Kate Forsyth’s previous title, Bitter Greens, featured in My Best Books of 2012 list.
My teaser:
Wilhelm always had a smile and a kind word for Dortchen, but this only made her heart ache more. She longed to be near him, but his presence made her hot-cheeked and tongue-tied, so that she felt she was always making a fool of herself. (Page 67)
Kate Forsyth’s prose conveys passion with ease and elegance.
Find out more about this book - The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth ( Amazon | Booktopia )
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Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
A Thousand Pardons Synopsis
For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Richard Russo, Jonathan Dee’s novels are masterful works of literary fiction. In this sharply observed tale of self-invention and public scandal, Dee raises a trenchant question: what do we really want when we ask for forgiveness?
Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn at home — a change that weighs heavily on his wife, Helen, and their pre-teen daughter, Sara. Then, in one afternoon, Ben’s recklessness takes an alarming turn, and everything the Armsteads have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly.
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Tuesday, January 15th, 2013
The Best of All Possible Worlds Synopsis
 The Best of All Possible Worlds is a stunning science fiction epic that is also a beautifully wrought, deeply moving love story.
A proud and reserved alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life but come to discover that in order to preserve their culture, they may have to change it forever.
Now a man and a woman from these two clashing societies must work together to save this vanishing race—and end up uncovering ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications. As their mission hangs in the balance, this unlikely team—one cool and cerebral, the other fiery and impulsive—just may find in each other their own destinies . . . and a force that transcends all. (B&N)
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