Teaser Tuesdays: Don Quixote by Cervantes, trans. by J.M. Cohen

Posted on July 19, 2011 by pagesofjulia

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!

Here ’tis! The Classics Challenge continues.

My teaser today comes from Don Quixote by Cervantes, translated by J.M. Cohen. From page 158:

When Don Quixote realized that Sancho was making fun of him, he got so furiously angry that he lifted his lance and dealt him two blows which would have relieved the master of the duty of paying his squire’s wages, unless perhaps to his heirs, had they caught him on the head instead of on the shoulders. But when Sancho found himself so poorly rewarded for his joke, he was afraid that his master might carry the matter farther, and said to him with great humility: ‘Gently, your worship; I was only joking, I swear.’

I am just beginning this book (am not even to page 158 yet, and my edition runs over 900 pages!), but I already believe that this is a representative passage. There have been several instances of Don Quixote losing his temper and dealing blows; and this passage was chosen at random. I think the dealing of blows may be a theme.

I’m excited to be into such a formidable classic text. What are you reading these days?

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Teaser Tuesdays: Newspaper Titan by Amanda Smith

Posted on July 12, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!


Newpaper Titan: The Infamous Life and Monumental Times of Cissy Patterson is a hefty biography of the heiress to the Chicago Tribune dynasty, and formidable newspaperwoman in her own right. Smith covers the family history beginning well before Cissy’s birth in 1881, through her death in 1948. I’m just beginning the book, and actually had never heard of Cissy before, but so far she is proving to be a most interesting subject – meaning, as is usually the case with the most interesting subjects, that she is a controversial and difficult-to-like figure. My teaser comes from page 347:

Although Cissy was the first and only woman editor of any newspaper in the Hearst chain, she was by no means the Chief’s sole female employee. The son of a formidable mother, William Randolph Hearst himself did not share the low estimate of feminine competence that his Washington Herald staff had betrayed when Cissy invaded their city room.

This quotation comes from an uncorrected advance proof and is subject to change.

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Teaser Tuesdays: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Posted on July 5, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!

This book is great fun so far. My teaser comes from page 142:

We walked through the house, past more curious eyes peeping through door cracks and from behind sofas, and into a sunny sitting room, where on an elaborate Persian rug, in a high-backed chair, a distinguished-looking lady sat knitting. She was dressed head to toe in black, her hair pinned in a perfectly round knot atop her head, with lace gloves and a high-collared blouse fastened tightly at her throat – as fastidiously neat as the house itself. I could’ve guessed who she was even if I hadn’t remembered her picture from those I’d found in the smashed trunk.

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Teaser Tuesdays: Back of Beyond by C.J. Box

Posted on June 28, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!


Today’s teaser comes from page 193:

Sullivan sat with his head down and his arms hanging between his legs, as if he’d received a slip of paper in a game of charades that said Dejected. Jed had left his place with Dakota behind the cooking station and conspicuously walked around the fire. All the voices quieted and faces turned toward him.

This is a neat little work of suspense, set in the titular back of beyond, in this case referring to the Yellowstone wilderness. I’m enjoying it. What are YOU reading?

This quotation comes from an uncorrected advance proof and is subject to change.

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Teaser Tuesdays: Mañana Forever? by Jorge G. Castaneda

Posted on June 21, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!

Mañana Forever? Mexico and the Mexicans is a book about the Mexican national character, more or less. To tell you more fully what this book is about, I could refer you to the preface; but really, no. The preface was painful. As I’ve said before, I like my nonfiction narrative, friendly, readable, and interesting. I have high hopes for this book, as it got infinitely more accessible in the bulk of the book. But the preface, in which Castaneda (an academic, and a former foreign minister) explains the goal of his book and outlines it, is difficult. Full of references to academic and political theory, big words, and lengthy sentences, I’m sure it indicates his intellect, but it required some effort from me to wade through.

But! The book itself, it gets better. First of all, the first chapter is titled Why Mexicans are Lousy at Soccer and Don’t Like Skyscrapers. I see whimsy! There is hope!

Your teaser comes from page 120 (although I have not read this far yet):

As The New York Times put it in an article in 2009, “If Guinness World Records ever creates a category for the country most obsessed with being in the Guinness Book of World Records, Mexico will surely be in the running.” It goes on to list the strange records Mexico has sought to break: largest number of people dancing simultaneously to Michael Jackson’s Thriller; most mariachi musicians gathered in one place; the longest catwalk and St. Valentine’s Day kiss; the largest meatball, cheesecake, and, of course, the biggest taco and tamale.

I hope Castaneda can find an attractive writing style, because the subject matter interests me immensely. As a neighbor to Mexico all my life and a traveler there repeatedly, I have something between a strong interest and a mild obsession with the place, the language, the scenery, the culture, and the cuisine. I love Mexico. I got engaged there, and we would have been happy to have gotten married there, except that we chose to share our day with our friends and family without asking them to travel. I would like to know more about the country; I should really study its history as I’m woefully undereducated. But my greatest interest has got to be in that cultural identity or “national character” as Castaneda seems to want to talk about. I hope this book satisfies. I need it to read more like something I read out of interest, though, than something I’m being forced to read for class! I’ll let you know.

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Teaser Tuesdays: Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon

Posted on June 14, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!

He wanted to ask where she’d been, apart from the supermarket, but he had the feeling she might have mentioned the rest of her plan to him earlier, and his failure to remember it would not be a good thing. Madeleine equated forgetting, as she equated poor hearing, with lack of interest. Maybe she was right.

Dear, dear. Our protagonist is a retired detective having a hard time staying retired, and his wife resents it. I find these few sentences to be a poignant expression of their difficulties. I’m enjoying this one so far!

This quotation comes from an uncorrected advance proof and is subject to change.

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Teaser Tuesdays: Gone with a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West

Posted on June 7, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just open your current read to a random page and share a few sentences. Be careful not to include spoilers!

This is a diversion from my usual reading choices, because while it is a mystery, it is a decidedly cozy one, with a Southern accent and an emphasis on food (Georgia peaches and fluffy pastry! etc.). It’s cute and charming. Here, let’s set the stage. From page 5:

“Why are you naked?” I called down.

Sir ran to the tree and barked. I pulled off my engagement ring and threw it at Bing. He jumped back, like I’d hurled a watermelon. That gave me an idea. I grabbed a peach.

Again, this is not my usual choice, but I’m enjoying it. I’ll let you know the final verdict in a bit. Thanks for stopping by!

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Teaser Tuesdays: South Texas Tales by Patricia Cisneros Young

Posted on May 31, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* 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!

I first learned about South Texas Tales: Stories My Father Told Me when I got a request for it here in the library. I’d not heard of it, but it sounded very interesting, and I was pleased to pick it up when we got it in (not least, because of that beautiful cover! Look at that!).

Your teaser today comes from page 65:

Jagou had not counted on the popular support of the communities, both in Brownsville and in Matamoros, rallying around the grief-stricken Hinojosa family. He watched nervously as regular customers became scarce and his daily sales margins dwindled to a trickle.

I am not sure that Jagou has done a good thing… or are the customers being unreasonable?

I look forward to reading these stories of a unique area right in my backyard.

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Teaser Tuesdays: The Great Night by Chris Adrian

Posted on May 24, 2011 by pagesofjulia

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “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!

This is the modern-day re-telling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which three young people wander into a San Francisco park at dusk and have adventures while Titania searches for her lost love, Oberon, who left her when they fought following the death of their Boy. So far I’m finding it to be a beautiful, evocative painting of a book. I like.

From page 146:

There was another, grander room beyond them, a cozier hall than the last, only about half as big, with grass on the floors and flowers on the walls, and a ceiling hung with hundreds of little colored lanterns. It was empty of furniture except for a table the size of a flatbed truck piled with food and surrounded by chairs of every conceivable size, and empty of people except for the girl, who had called herself Eleanor Roosevelt. She was sprawled in a chair with a bottle of wine in her hand.

“You all again,” she said.

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Teaser Tuesdays: Fire Season by Philip Connors

Posted on May 17, 2011 by pagesofjulia


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* 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!


In a tiny room in a tower 10,000 feet above sea level, Connors keeps watch for fire over New Mexico’s Gila National Forest. This contemplation of solitude and the power of nature sounds like Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire which I enjoyed so much. I’m looking forward to it. From page 75:

No matter the length or sweetness of a reprieve, the wind always returns, gales to test the endurance of anyone exposed in a high place. Trees that elsewhere grow a hundred feet tall here hug the ground like shrubs, shrunken, gnarled, and twisted, as if cowering from an invisible foe.

Lovely. I anticipate beautiful writing and a study of nature and natural places. I’ll let you know!

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