Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Where Is Your Bookmark? (02/18/2014)

My household was struck down by illness again last week.  I felt especially bad for Mouse because she missed out on two birthday parties and her soccer class, which she loves.  Except for her lingering cough, she is feeling much better, as are my husband and I.  I am hoping we will all stay healthy from here on out, especially as Mouse's 3rd birthday approaches next month.  I'm in high planning mode at the moment, as you can imagine.  Mouse has wanted a pirate themed party for months now.  Then just the other day she announced that she is going to have a princess cake.  That's my girl for you.  I can't believe March is just around the corner!

At the moment I am reading a crime fiction novel by Michael Robotham called Bombproof.  It is a fast paced thriller about one very unlucky man on the run from authorities.  I picked it up to read after finally finishing Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale, which, by the way, I finished just in time to see the movie on opening day.  Whew.  I needed a more quick read to balance out the slower one.

I am not sure what I will read next.  I am eager to read A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, another book recently translated to film.  The movie comes out in early March.  I also want to read Divergent by Veronica Roth, but I admit I am feeling a little gun shy of young adult fantasy type novels at the moment.  Still, with the movie deadline approaching next month, I am hoping to fit it in soon.  Since I seem to be doing less re-discovery of old favorite authors and more book to movie reads so far this year, maybe I should change my reading goal for the year.  On second thought, it is still early in the year.

What are you reading at the moment?  Is it something you would recommend?



Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts 
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where  
participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a 
book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.


Bombproof by Michael Robotham is proving to be quite a roller coaster ride.  Here's a look at the opening of the novel:
Some days are diamonds.  Some days are stones.  John Denver used to sing that before he crashed his plane into Monterey Bay.  It wasn't a diamond day for him.
Sami Macbeth's day has been nothing but stones.  Emerging from Oxford Circus Underground, he blinks into the sunlight and coughs so hard it feels as if he sphincter is coming up through his lungs looking for clean air.  His clothes are torn and bloody.  His face is streaked with sweat.  his skin is coated in dust. 

Would you continue reading?


Hosted by MizB Should Be Reading

And a little teaser from the same book (last sentence of the first chapter):
Three days ago he walked out of prison and swore he'd never go back.  Thirty-six hours ago he was shagging Kate Tierney, the woman of his wet dreams, in a suite at the Savoy thinking life was looking up.  Now he's carrying a rucksack that could send him to prison for the rest of his life through the West End of London and he's turned himself into the most wanted man in Britain.

© 2014, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

36 comments:

  1. Oh no, that's too bad you were all sick. Hopefully everyone is on the road to recovery... you've got a birthday party to plan! :)
    I didn't know A Long Way Down was a movie now! I thought the book was a great read. Hope you'll like it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iliana - Thank you, Iliana! We're doing better this week.

      I am looking forward to reading A Long Way Down, and am glad to hear you liked it! I'm using the movie as an excuse to finally read something by Nick Hornby. Not that I need an excuse . . .

      Delete
  2. I LIKE THAT INTRO AND A GOOD THRILLER IS A PLUS. I would definitely keep reading. Thanks for participating and hope you all feel better 100% soon..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diane - Yes, it is! It was a good pick for my mood, I think. And thank you for the well wishes!

      Delete
  3. I hope you all stay well too! Mouse should have a pirate party with a princess cake!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy - Thanks, Kathy! Mouse is so very excited about her birthday. She started talking about it right after Christmas and I swear she had it all planned long before I was ready to think about it. LOL

      Delete
  4. I just finished William Kent Kreuger's Iron Lake, which is the first in a series. It took a while to get interested, but once I did I couldn't put it down!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les - Sometimes those slow starters turn out to be the best reads. I'll have to look for Iron Lake. I am glad you enjoyed it!

      Delete
  5. I'm so sorry you were all hit with a bug. I hate being sick but I especially hate it when the little ones get sick. We can tough it out but when it comes to them, all we can do is guess at what is going on with them. Do they need more meds? Vitamins? Rest? All of the above. And when they have a fever, that has got to be the worst. Not knowing if it's going down while they are sleeping, etc. But it seems as if you are over the rough part now. Now you can look forward to her party! I bet she is excited.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ti - I asked Mouse at one point if it hurt when she coughed because she was acting like it did. I asked her where, thinking she'd say her throat or chest, and she pointed to her foot. It was cute.

      Mouse keeps telling us her birthday is "this week". I don't know what she'll do when it's past and she has to wait another year. LOL

      Delete
  6. Sorry to hear your household had sickness and hope you are all recovered soon. Bombproof sounds like a great read. I like the intro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat - Thank you, Pat! I finished Bombproof late last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

      Delete
  7. So sorry to hear you've been ill. Bombproof sounds like it will be a thrilling read, the most wanted man in Britain eh? That is serious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cleo - Thank you. I am really hoping the season for flus and colds has passed at long last. It's been never ending!

      Bombproof was a fun read. It required a bit of suspended disbelief, but it was easy to achieve while in the midst of all the action.

      Delete
  8. I'd definitely keep reading to find out what has happened to him! Sounds like a good story.
    My Teaser is from SINFUL FOLKS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandra - It was good! Sami, the main character, really was very unlucky. Trouble followed him everywhere!

      Delete
  9. Sorry you guys have been sick again, but glad you're finally on the mend. The mention of John Denver in that intro made me smile... I remember that song :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JoAnn - Thanks, JoAnn. So am I! I smiled when I read it too. :-)

      Delete
  10. So sorry you've all been sick! It's awful when you and your kids are both sick. And poor Mouse having to miss all that fun stuff. I'm not sure I'd keep reading the book just based off the first paragraph. Just didn't grab me. I'll be interested to see your opinion of it though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katherine - Thank you. Mouse was especially upset over missing her soccer class, but that could be because we didn't talk up the parties too much before hand. We just won't tell her she missed out on playing on a jumper. :-)

      Bombproof is a bit gritty as you can probably guess from the intro.

      Delete
  11. I hope you are all feeling better over there. It's no fun being sick. And have fun planning for the big "3"! That's a fun age, too cute.

    I want to read Nick Hornby, I have High Fidelity on my shelves. Something keeps me from reading the Divergent series though, I think its all the hype around it. I have heard it's a great series though.
    Lastly, Bombproof sounds good too. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Naida - We're getting there, thank you!

      I enlisted my mom's help with collecting pirate themed stuff for Mouse's party and she's going crazy. LOL It's going to save me time, but I may have to rein her in some. :-)

      I really enjoyed the movie High Fidelity. I want to read the book.

      I think the hype is part of it in regards to my reluctance to start reading Divergent. I dove too quickly into a couple other YA books that I ended up being disappointed in because of hype. I should know better.

      Delete
  12. I am sorry to hear everyone was sick again. Hopefully everyone can stay healthy in preparation for Mouse's birthday! Happy reading. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kelly - I sure hope so, Kelly! I hate being sick with a house full of company too boot.

      Delete
  13. Sorry you are suffering through sickness. I remember a year when my daughter was very young that she changed her mind three times about a costume!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nise' - Mouse did the same this past Halloween. :-) I really think the pirate idea came from her best friend who had a pirate themed birthday party in November. She hasn't forgotten obviously.

      Delete
  14. Oh, sorry to hear this. Its awful when the little ones are ill like this. I love the idea of a pirate themed birthday party. We have just received an invitation to a Monty Python themed 40th birthday party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tracy - It's funny in a way because I just read a book in which the little girl was having a pirate themed birthday party too.

      The Monty Python themed party sounds like a lot of fun! Will you dress up?

      Delete
  15. We can't seem to get rid of the flu here either. I'm beginning to think I may not feel better till spring. I hope you all are didn't better and stay that way.

    Wow, I can't believe Mouse is going to be 3. Where has the time gone? I can't wait to see pics from her party. Try not to go crazy in the planning. Lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Darlene - It just keeps coming and coming and coming . . . I wish I could say weather was the cause here as we've barely had a winter at all.

      I can't believe she's going to be 3 either! Her party will be relatively simple really. It's all the little details at this point. My mom's been a big help, even at a distance. I will be glad when it's over though. I'm an introvert through and through--and throwing a party of any kind is more stress than fun for me. I'll get through it and Mouse will love it. :-)

      Delete
  16. :) Another birthday! Mouse is growing so fast! Hope you feeling better--time to leave that winter illness stuff behind.

    Bombproof does sound suspenseful; I'll keep it in mind!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenclair - She is! I can't believe how big she's getting. She's learning to recognize her letters on sight right now and it's so fun to see how excited she gets when she recognizes them everywhere we go. :-)

      Delete
  17. The Long Way Down is on my TBR pile… somewhere… Bombproof sounds interesting, I like to read books which are set in cities I know well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peggy - I am looking forward to reading The Long Way Down. It sounds like it will be good!

      I really liked Bombproof and have enjoyed the other Michael Robotham books I have been reading. He's addicting. :-)

      Delete
  18. Divergent is definitely worth the read, even if you are wary of the YA genre right now. It is fast-paced, intelligent, and witty. I still need to read the latest one in the series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Becca - I will probably be diving into Divergent very soon. I think my wariness comes from not being impressed with my recent YA reading. Intelligent and witty sound very promising! Thank you for the boost of confidence in getting started on it!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to visit Musings of a Bookish Kitty. Don't be shy! I would love to hear from you. Due to a recent increase in spam, I will be moderating all comments for the foreseeable future. Please be patient with me as it may take a few hours before I am able to approve your comment.