My asshole is doing as much to keep me alive as my brain.
– Andy Weir, The Martian, page 14
Version:
Hardcover, US / CAN Edition, 369 pages
Published February 11th 2014 by Crown
Author: Lee
First Lines Fridays: May 11, 2018
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
- Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
- Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
- Finally… reveal the book!
First Lines:
At my age, a surprise can be hazardous to your health.
Interested? Scroll down for the cover and summary!
Make ‘Em Laugh: Short-Term Memories of Longtime Friends by Debbie Reynolds
The beloved Hollywood star and New York Times bestselling author of Unsinkable continues her intimate chat with fans in this entertaining collection of anecdotes, stories, jokes, and random musings from a woman who has seen it all—and done most of it.
From her acclaimed performances to her headline-making divorce from Eddie Fisher, raising a famous daughter to hitting the road with a successful one-woman show, Debbie Reynolds was in the spotlight for decades. Over her more than six-decade-long career she met presidents, performed for the Queen of England, and partied with kings.
In this fabulous personal tour, she recalls wonderful moments with the greats of the entertainment world—Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Phyllis Diller, and many, many more—sharing stories that shed new light on her life and career and the glittering world of Hollywood then and now. Debbie has plenty to tell—and in Make ’Em Laugh, she dishes it in the warm, down-to-earth voice her fans adore.
Debbie shares memories of late night pals and some of the greatest comedians of all time, stories from the big screen and small, and tales of marriage, motherhood, and children. Combining her wicked sense of humor and appealing charm, she reveals the personal side of show business and fame in funny, poignant, and delightful reminiscences. Nothing is off limits: Debbie talks about her sex life, her family drama—and even shares a few secret recipes.
A Scene from Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Cath snapped the book shut — the cat barely got his tail out in time. “Are you here for a reason, Cheshire?”
“Why, yes, I would enjoy a cup of tea. I take mine with lots of cream, and no tea. Thank you.”
– Marissa Meyer, Heartless, page 199
Version:
Hardcover, 453 pages
Published November 8th 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
She received fine silk gloves and music boxes and even a curled lock of prickly white hair tied with a red velvet ribbon. That particularly appalling gift had even come with a poem:
Roses are red, violets are blue,
I would even trim my mustache for you!She had memorized the short stanza against her will and the words had nauseated her on multiple occasions since.
– Marissa Meyer, Heartless, page 196
Version:
Hardcover, 453 pages
Published November 8th 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
Top 5 Wednesday: May 9, 2018
Characters You’d Want as Family
You can say this in a broad way or be specific (i.e. _______ would be a cool aunt, ______would be a great older brother, etc.)
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, head over to their Goodreads Group!
Almost every main character from The Tillerman books // The Tillerman Cycle by Cynthia Voigt
This is probably cheating to be like “oh yes the entire extended family unit from 7 whole books” but whatever! I love the Tillermans more than I’ve ever loved any characters from any media.
I don’t even think I can properly explain it, but if a god came down from some heaven and was like “I will reset the world and let you invent a family for yourself, tell me what you want” I would just dump these books in their lap and just:
“I want Dicey, Sammy, James, Maybeth, and Gram first of all. And I still want my real Granny too because I think she and Gram would get along scarily well, so just keep that in mind. Secondly, Bullet needs to be alive and HAPPY and if you have the time to make Miss Liza not go crazy and die that would be great. No no, I have no need for John the abusive husband, that bitter prick can die. I don’t want Francis Verricker either. He doesn’t count as a part of that family and if you bring him to life I will kill him myself so don’t waste your time. Feel free to throw in Mina Smith’s whole family AND Tamer Shipp (and his family probably he seems to like them) and Jeff Greene’s too. Actually wait, just Jeff, Brother Thomas, and the Professor. Melody’s whole side of the family can choke. Okay great get crackin’ on all that I’m going to go reread the series.”
And whatever god offered me this option would completely regret it, but I would insist we shake on it as soon as possible so they’d be locked into that whole deal.
The Gangsey // The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
Yep, I’m still cheating. But honestly after my last answer this one probably seems like nothing at all. In fact, you might even let me get away with having Blue’s Fox Way family and the Gray Man? Yes. Excellent. So all the decent humans from The Raven Cycle. Check.
Ripred // The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins
Who wouldn’t want a GIANT FUCKING RAT who is excellent at killing as family?
Honestly though, he would be excellent to have around. He’s sarcastic and rude which I can dig because I too am sarcastic and rude, he can kill anyone so Guard Rat, and he mostly just wants to eat shrimp in cream sauce and read books so like…. A nice companion all in all.
Dashti // Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
She’s so kind and loyal and a great friend. Plus she has healing magic that can also help relieve the pain of chronic injuries so… Useful. Fuck you Mr. Chiropractor my new fam Dashti the Mucker can help me by just laying her hand on me and singing me a nice song. Eat it.
And like she’s lovely and brave and I always thought she’d be an excellent friend.
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy // Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Okay so first I was torn between the two. The sassy lady or the most awkward man to ever live… And then I decided I’d just take them both!
I’d get to enjoy the sass of Eliza Bennet and the awkward kindness of Fitzwilliam Darcy AND if we were related…um….you know… HE’S SUPER RICH AND I WANT TO BE SUPER RICH BY PROXIMITY SO DEAL WITH IT. But mostly I just like them. The money is only a bonus.
Wow I am very demanding in my list of potential family… What about you? What book characters would you wish to have as family?
Margaret Mearle, daughter of the Count of Crossroads, had been Catherine’s closest bosom friend since they were toddlers. Unfortunately, they had never much liked each other.
– Marissa Meyer, Heartless, page 20
Version:
Hardcover, 453 pages
Published November 8th 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
Teaser Tuesday: May 8, 2018
That’s the problem with dating somebody you’re not truly in love with. Every few weeks the pressure builds and you turn into a monster. You’re not sure who you hate more for the lie you are living, him or yourself.
– Allison Burnett, Undiscovered Gyrl, page 29
Version:
Paperback, 304 pages
Published August 11th 2009 by Vintage
Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, the 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.
Love. I would ban the word from the vocabulary. Such imprecision. Love, which love, what love? Sentiment, fantasy, longing, lust? Obsession, devouring need? Perhaps the only love that is accurate without qualification is the love of a very young child. Afterward, she too becomes a person, and thus compromised.
– Janet Fitch, White Oleander, page 301
Version:
ebook, 345 pages
Published September 1st 2006 by Little, Brown and Company
What was a weed, anyway. A plant nobody planted? A seed escaped from a traveler’s coat, something that didn’t belong? Was it something that grew better than what should have been there? Wasn’t it just a word, weed, trailing it’s judgments. Useless, without value. Unwanted.
– Janet Fitch, White Oleander, page 288
Version:
ebook, 345 pages
Published September 1st 2006 by Little, Brown and Company
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