Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Where is Your Bookmark? (04/01/2014)

I  have only ever played one April Fool's joke on my blog.  I had hoped to make it an annual event, but it was extremely time consuming to set up and I never managed to recreate it.  It was the day my dog, Riley, took over my blog.  The anniversary of his death is coming up in another month, and I found myself giggling at the fun we had that one day in 2010.  Despite the name of my blog, this was also very much Riley's blog during his life.  He had such personality. If you have time, I hope you will take time to re-visit Riley's exploits on April 1, 2010.  Think of this as my flashback Thursday on a Tuesday.



There will be no April Fool's jokes today.  At least not from me.  I would like to hear from you, however. What are some of your favorite April Fool's jokes?  Do you like to pull pranks on people in honor of the day?

As for books, I recently read the first Rachel Morgan book by Kim Harrison called Dead Witch Walking
All these years people have told me I would love the books, and yet I let the book sit on my shelf and collect dust.  Yeah.  So now I am kicking myself for not listening to all of you who told me to read it sooner.  

Yesterday I began reading Lisa See's Shanghai Girls, another book I should have read a long long time ago.  My online book group is reading it this month.  I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, the only other book I have read by the author.  So far, I am really enjoying Shanghai Girls.

Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood is on my April must read list. My husband has been trying to convince me to read the book for years.  It's the next book up on Carrie's "I've Always Meant to Read That Book!" Challenge list.  I hope you will consider joining us.  If you have read the book already, feel free to join in on the discussion.

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.


Shanghai Girls by Lisa See is a historical novel about two sisters who travel from Shanghai to Los Angeles  with their husbands from arranged marriages during the 1930's: 
"Our daughter looks like a South China peasant with those red cheeks," my father complains, pointedly ignoring the soup before him.  "Can't you do something about them?"
Mama stares at Baba, but what can she say? My face is pretty enough--some might even say lovely--but not as luminescent as the pearl I'm named for.  I tend to blush easily. Beyond that, my cheeks capture the sun.  When I turned five, my mother began rubbing my face and arms with pearl creams, and mixing ground pearls into my morning jook--rice porridge--hoping the white essence would permeate my skin.  It hasn't worked.  Now my cheeks burn red--exactly what my father hates.  I shrink down in my chair.    
Would you continue reading?


© 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.

37 comments:

  1. Yes! I find the opening to the novel intriguing, and I like the voice of the girl with red cheeks.

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    1. Jenclair - I am not too far in yet, but I am enjoying it so far.

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  2. I like the sound of this one - I love historical fiction as well.

    Here's Mine: http://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/fiction/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday-intros-black-chalk-christopher-j-yates/

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    1. Sarah - I love historical fiction, especially when it involves cultures different from my own.

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  3. This book got wonderful reviews and friends of mine who read it enjoyed it too. The beginning is interesting enough to entice a reader to continue.

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

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    1. Catherine - It was quite popular when it first came out, wasn't it? I am looking forward to continuing with the book and seeing where Lisa See takes me.

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  4. I actually have had this book sitting on my shelf for years and have never even read the first paragraph before! Shame on me! Sound interesting! Look forward to seeing your thoughts once you've finished it.

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    1. Katherine - What is wrong with us?! If only we read books as soon as we go them . . . Then maybe we wouldn't have such huge TBR stacks.

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  5. This sounds like an enjoyable read. I will check out April 1, 2010 on your blog.

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  6. It is always interesting to read about diff periods in time, so I would pick this up. I confess … I don't usually like April's fools jokes but if they are that funny and enjoyable like your dog that can be great.

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    1. Peggy - I agree. I love history.

      I am not a big fan of April Fool's jokes either, really, but the silly ones can be fun. A friend of mine introduced her 5 year old daughter to April Fool's jokes today by giving her jello juice and freezing her milk and cereal. It was quite funny to hear about. :-)

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  7. I like the intro Wendy and enjoyed the book as well --hope u do as well.

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    1. Diane - So far, I am enjoying it. I didn't get to read during my lunch break yesterday (I didn't get a lunch), but hopefully today I can squeeze more of the book in.

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    1. Nise' - I really enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I'm excited to finally be reading another of See's books.

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  9. I already feel for the girl. I'd read on after that first paragraph.

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    1. Margot - Me too! I know parents sometimes have favorites, but to be so obvious about it . . .

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  10. Aww! I love the Riley interview and I remember reading it way back when.
    I'm not much into pranks, especially now since I don't have the energy to think of one or plan it!

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    1. Stacy - I am not sure I have the energy to think or plan elaborate pranks either. I love what my friend did with her daughter though, and her daughter got such a big kick out of it--the frozen cereal, the jello as juice, and the balloon wall.

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  11. poor girl! enjoy your book and thanks so much for stopping by today. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

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    1. Kelley - The sisters seem to have a strong relationship, which adds an interesting dynamic to the family relationships.

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  12. Yes, I love Lisa See. This is really a good start. I would keep reading.

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    1. Tea - Me too! I know I shouldn't say that only having read one book by her, but I knew after that first book I read, I would like just about everything she's written.

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  13. There was so much April's Fool related going around online yesterday. I didn't trust anything that I read! I personally love Lisa See. Enjoy!

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    1. Kelly - It's hard to know what to believe on April Fool's Day, especially online.

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  14. As you saw on my blog my favourite April Fool's Day hoax has to be the 1950's Panorama programme about Spaghetti trees.

    I seem to remember reading Shanghai Girls with my Readers Group and not really enjoying it though the rest of the group did.

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    1. Tracy - The Spaghetti Trees were really funny. :-)

      I am sorry you didn't enjoy Shanghai Girls more. I'm still not too far in, so we'll see. I do like what I've read so far though. It wasn't quite what I expected.

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  15. Oh I love The Blind Assassin! It's not the easiest of reads but I found it to be very satisfying when I was done with the book. I still vividly remember certain scenes, which is not very typical for me.

    No jokes for us. I had seen a meatloaf cake frosted with mashed potatoes online that I thought about making for dinner but it just seemed like too much work. I told Scott about it later and he said he would have liked that. I knew he would. LOL!

    Happy April Wendy!

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    1. Trish - Don't tell me it's not easy--it'll be harder for me to pick up and read. LOL Seriously though, I'm looking forward to finally reading Blind Assassin.

      The meatloaf cake idea sounds fun! Maybe you can do it next year. :-)

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  16. Love the Riley flashback! I am not good at jokes and pranks so don't have any to share.

    I loved Shanghai Girls - I think you'll enjoy it!

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    1. Iliana - I've never been good at jokes and pranks either. The ones I do are very obvious, so I don't do anything very often.

      I am glad to hear you loved Shanghai Girls.

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  17. I've heard so many good things about Lisa See's books yet I have not read any of them.

    No jokes from me; you can say my life is pretty boring, lol.

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    1. Melody - I would be really interested to know what you think of Lisa See, if you ever do decide to read her books. I've met the author--or rather, heard her speak, alongside her mother one year at the book festival and have so much respect for both women.

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  18. Shanghai Girls is brilliant, hope you enjoy it! I think GoodReads' Jane Austen prank was the best this year (though I didn't see many). It was kind of sad to know it was a joke.

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    1. Charlie - I missed the Jane Austen prank. :-( I wish I had seen it.

      I am glad you liked Shanghai Girls so much. I do love a good historical fiction novel.

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    2. Charlie - You talked recently about spoilers on your blog, and another type of spoiler came to mind--the one you can't avoid in historical fiction. I find myself anticipating certain events even in Shangai Girls, knowing the time period. It creates its own tension, you know?

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