THURSDAY SPARKS: THEMES & BOOKING — MARCH 8

Good morning!  Welcome to another Thursday event, in which we spark some creativity and dig into the books we’re reading for our Thursday Themes, hosted by Reading Between Pages ; or explore our thoughts and feelings about bookish topics in Booking Through Thursday.

Our themes give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

 

March is going to be all about making life easy. This month we will do ‘Pick what you see first‘ themes.

Open the book you are reading –> Open the page number that has your birthdate (I was born on the 3rd so that is Page 3) –> pick the first sentence from it and post the snippet. Sorry, but ‘No Ebooks’ this time as well. With this week’s theme, we will also get to know your birthdate

BIRTHDATE – First snippet from the page that is your birthdate…

That’s easy…right?

I’m reading The Effect of Living Backwards, by Heidi Julavits.

Does Alice really hate her sister, or is that love? Was she really enrolled in grad school, or was that an elaborate hoax? Is this really a hijacking, or is it merely the effect of living backwards?

Following her acclaimed debut, The Mineral Palace, Heidi Julavits presents a quirky, compelling new novel about two sisters, a bizarre event, and the elusive nature of truth.

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Snippet:  (p. 25) – “You’re too busy contending with despondent nobodies,” she said.

So what did the rest of you find?  Come on by….

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Booking Through Thursday:

Which non-series book would you most like to read the sequel to? Do you have any wishes for what might happen in it?

That’s actually a lot more difficult than it would appear.  I went through my list of books read last year…and many of them were already in a series.

I did find one that I absolutely loved:  the setting, the characters, and the mystery involved.  Violets of March, by Sarah Jio (click the title for my review) is full of things I’d like to revisit.

The author has written two more books, each lovely in its own way.  I haven’t read the third one yet, coming out in September.

But I would love to see what happened to Emily and with the relationship that began on the island…and whether or not she finds any other mysteries to solve.

What about you?  Any books that called for a sequel?

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY — CHEATING — MARCH 3

Good morning!  Today, on Booking on Thursday, we’re responding to this question:

Do you cheat and peek at the ends of books? (Come on, be honest.)

Okay, we’re talking serious reading behavior here!  LOL

Fairytale Endings

Mainly, I’ll glance at the end to see how many pages are in the book…and maybe to see the last line.  But then I hastily move back to my place.  I don’t want to spoil the book for myself, and knowing how it ends might just do that.

Usually the actual last line is something that doesn’t tell much.  It’s all the words leading up to that last line that reveal how things end.  Yesterday I finished a book that had this for a last line:

Slipping her arms around him, she took strength from the sound of his heartbeat for a poignant moment, before kissing him lightly and going back inside.

Even after reading the entire book, I decided that this line didn’t really tell me much about this couple’s future.  For one thing, the kiss was “light,” and for another, she went back inside.  They didn’t walk off into the sunset.

I actually like this ending, because it hints at more, but it doesn’t promise that “happily-ever-after,” which we all know is bs anyway.  Right?

Or maybe you do love a happy ending.  I prefer hopeful endings.

So, long story short, I prefer to be surprised by the ending, but even if I peek, I don’t necessarily know how it ends.

What about the rest of you?  Peeking?  Cheating, if you will?  I hope you’ll stop by and share.