TUESDAY INTROS/TEASERS: WHERE WE BELONG — MAY 29

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

Just grab your book and share the opening lines; then find another excerpt that “teases” the reader.

When I think about “guilty secrets,” my mind sometimes rambles along toward the other kind of secrets we sometimes read about.  Like the kind described in this opener to Where We Belong, by Emily Giffin.  My copy is an ARC, and therefore, final copy may differ slightly.

Intro:  I know what they say about secrets.  I’ve heard it all.  That they can haunt and govern you.  That they can poison relationships and divide families.  That in the end, only the truth will set you free.  Maybe that’s the case for some people and some secrets.  But I truly believed I was the exception to such portents, and never once breathed the smallest mention of my nearly two-decade-long secret to anyone.  Not to my closest friends in my most intoxicated moments or to my boyfriend, Peter, in our most intimate ones.  My father knew nothing of it—and I didn’t even discuss it with my mother, the only person who was there when it all happened, almost as if we took an unspoken vow of silence, willing ourselves to let go, move on.  I never forgot, not for a single day, yet I was also convinced that sometimes, the past really was the past.

I should have known better.  I should have taken those words to heart—the ones that started it all on that sweltering night so long ago:

You can run but you can’t hide.

***

Teaser:  “Dessert?”  I suggest, as we turn the corner.  We contemplate Magnolia’s cupcakes or Rocco’s cannolis, but decide we are too full for either, and instead walk in comfortable silence, wandering by cafes and bars and throngs of contented Villagers.  Then, moved by the wine and the weather and a whiff of his spicy cologne, I find myself blurting out, “How about marriage?”  p. 3

***

So…what do you think?  Is your curiosity and/or interest piqued?  I know mine is.  And now I’m eager to see what the rest of you are sharing.

 

 

 

GUILTY SPRING MOMENTS — READING, MOVIES, & A STROLL — MAY 6

Welcome to another Sunday of mimosas and reading.

And let’s not forget the movies, with a little bit of popcorn and chocolate.  Yesterday, I watched New Year’s Eve, a fun foray into the lives of several intersecting characters.

And today I’m reading The Guy Not Taken, by Jennifer Weiner:  a collection of short stories that follow the tender, and often hilarious, progress of love and relationships over the course of a lifetime. From a teenager coming to terms with her father’s disappearance to a widow accepting two young women into her home, Weiner’s eleven stories explore those transformative moments in our every day.

 

 

I had a great week, with lovely weather and one book that knocked my socks off.  The three books I read and reviewed are all here at My Sunday Salon post.

As I finished off the last of my mimosas today, my thoughts started wandering toward the outdoors.  There is a lovely park in my area…and despite the brisk walk I would face that would take me there, I am tempted.

 

A truly guilty pleasure.  I should definitely indulge!

Where do spring days take you?  What lovely spots call to you?

 

WAITING ON WEDNESDAYS — SUMMER BREEZE — MAY 2

In the upcoming summer months, I plan to indulge in some of my guilty pleasures.  Not all of them are chocolates or mimosas; I do love to curl up and read something that takes me to the beach (or a lake) in my mind.

Join our host, Jill, at Breaking the Spine, to see what everyone else is waiting for as the summer months roll around.

Today I’m spotlighting a book from a favorite author who specializes in “guilty pleasures” books.  Nancy Thayer’s Summer Breeze, due out on June 5, 2012, will be on my list.

 

New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer never fails to imbue her novels with warmth and wisdom. In Summer Breeze, the author of Beachcombers and Heat Wave tells the wonderfully moving story of three women who forge a unique bond one sun-drenched summer on New England’s Dragonfly Lake.

Morgan O’Keefe feels trapped in a gilded cage. True, the thirty-year-old mother agreed to put her science career on hold to raise her young son while her husband  pursued his high-powered job. But though Morgan loves many things about staying home with her child, she misses the thrill of working with her colleagues in the lab. She’s restless and in dire need of a change.

Fed up with New York City’s hectic pace, Natalie Reynolds takes up her aunt’s offer to move to the Berkshires and house-sit her fabulous lakeside house for a year. Passionate about applying brush to canvas, Natalie is poised to become the artist she has forever longed to be. But life on Dragonfly Lake is never without surprises, and for a novice swimmer like Natalie, the most welcome surprise proves to be the arms of a handsome neighbor pulling her up from the water for a gulp of air.

When her mother breaks her leg, Bella Barnaby quits her job in Austin and returns home to help out her large, boisterous family. Among her new duties: manning the counter at the family business, Barnaby’s Barn, an outdated shop sorely in need of a makeover. While attractive architect Aaron has designs on her, Bella harbors long held secret dreams of her own.

Summer on Dragonfly Lake is ripe for romance, temptation, and self-discovery as the lives of these three women unexpectedly intertwine. Summer Breeze illustrates how the best of friends can offer comfort, infuriate, or even—sometimes—open one’s eyes to the astonishing possibilities of life lived in a different way. This captivating novel displays a prestigiously gifted writer at the height of her storytelling powers.

***

Don’t you want to join these characters at this beautiful lakeside retreat?

What books are you hoping for today?