Teaser Tuesday: May 23, 2017

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, hosted by The Purple Booker.  This is a weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

This book has been on my TBR for a long time.  I wish I had picked it up sooner! I'm really enjoying both the writing and the history

11.22.63 by Stephen King

“Coincidences happen, but I've come to believe they are actually quite rare. Something is at work, okay? Somewhere in the universe (or behind it), a great machine is ticking and turning its fabulous gears.”

Review: Almost Missed You

Almost Missed You was one of our Shereads.org book choices for spring.  I chose this title because I loved the teaser and was interested in reading the story of this little family in the hopes that it would have a happy ending.

Synopsis from Amazon:

Violet and Finn were “meant to be,” said everyone, always. They ended up together by the hands of fate aligning things just so. Three years into their marriage, they have a wonderful little boy, and as the three of them embark on their first vacation as a family, Violet can’t help thinking that she can’t believe her luck. Life is good. So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach—just packs up the hotel room and disappears. And takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all.

This isn't the entire teaser but it was all I really needed to pick it up. I wasn't disappointed.  While the story wasn't an edge of your seat page turner, the author was able to stir my emotions and pull me into the lives of Violet and Finn.  I felt complete heartbreak for Violet, maybe because I am a mom myself and couldn't imagine have my children taken from me.  I wanted desperately for her to be reunited with Bear.  I had mixed feelings about Finn that ranged from anger to pity depending on which part of the story I was reading at the time.  For Caitlin, who was Finn's friend and in a good part of the story, I felt mostly irritation.  I would have liked her to be smarter and less concerned with herself.  For me to invest in the characters in this way, I know that the writer did a bang up job.  I didn't need excitement or action to keep reading into the night and there were enough little surprises to keep me guessing about how the story would end and if Violet would find her son.

Did I like how it ended? I'm torn.  No spoilers being given away, I think if I were in Violet's position, I would have had a different perspective on my future.  However, the story wrapped up nicely and I was glad this was my book choice.  Great spring read.  :)

#BoutofBooks Readathon Goals and Updates

I have participated in the Bout of Books read-a-thon four times now and had a lot of fun. It's a great opportunity to catch up on my reading. It's a little bit harder throughout the school year when I work so I'm keeping my goal manageable at 3 books.  Below, I will post my goal books and my updates and they will also be at #boutofbooks and #sixtybooks on Twitter. 

I also get the added bonus of being a #BoutofBooks expert this time around so you'll be seeing me a lot on Twitter and commenting on your blogs. I'm excited to meet some new readers that I may not already follow.  Let the reading begin!!

Books I hope to read this week:

Bonus book if I can get to 4!

Updates:

Monday:

Reading: Almost Missed You

Ended on page: 102
Audiobook: 1 hour

Tuesday:

Reading: Almost Missed You

Ended on page: 96
Audiobook: 1 hour

Wednesday:

Reading: Almost Missed You

Ended on page: Finished!
Audiobook: 1 hour

Thursday:

Reading: Nothing, son was sick. :(

Ended on page:
Audiobook: 1 hour

Friday:

Reading:

Ended on page:

Saturday:

Reading:

Ended on page:

Sunday:

Reading:

Ended on page:

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. May 2nd

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. is hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea and is all about sharing the first paragraph or two from a book you are about to read. I'll be finishing both an audiobook and a print book this week so I'll be ready for Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman for the start of #Boutofbooks 19 on Monday. It will also be #24 in my #Sixtybooks challenge for 2017.

Neverwhere (prologue)

"The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself. He had begun the evening by enjoying himself: he had enjoyed reading the good-bye cards, and receiving the hugs from several not entirely unattractive young ladies of his acquaintance; he had enjoyed the warnings about the evils and dangers of London, and the gift of the white umbrella with the map of the London Underground on it that the lads had clubbed together to buy him; he had enjoyed the first few pints of ale; but then, with each successive pint of ale he found he was enjoying himself significantly less; until now he was sitting and shivering on the sidewalk outside the pub in a small Scottish town, weighing the conflicting merits of being sick and not being sick, and not enjoying himself at all."

Would you keep reading? I'm really looking forward to this one. :)