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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros



Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea
 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book
 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).
 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!

My selection for this week is Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan. I've been following JoAnn's reviews (Lakeside Musing) of this author's works and when I renewed my library card last week, knew that this was one that I would check out immediately! Thanks JoAnn!!


  They took Arlene's car because it had air-conditioning and Emily wasn't sure the Olds would make it. That and Arlene's was bigger, a wagon, better for bringing things back.
       Emily knew she wouldn't be able to resist. She'd never learned to take even the smallest loss gracefully- a glass cracked in the dishwasher, a sweater shrunk in the dryer. She'd stuff the Taurus full of junk she didn't have room for at home. All of it would end up down in the basement, moldering next to the extra fridge still filled to clinking with Henry's Iron Citys. She didn't drink beer, and she couldn't bring herself to twist them open one by one and tip them foaming down the sink, so they stayed there, the crimped edges of the bottle caps going rusty, giving her vegetables a steely tinge. She would save what she could, she knew, though Henry himself would have shaken his head at the mess.


Would you continue reading this one based on the opening paragraph?

15 comments:

  1. Hard to say if I'd keep reading. i'd flip through the book to other pages first. Love the cover though!

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  2. I did like the intro and I liked this book as well Staci - I hope you like it as, the follow-up Emily Alone is terrific. (you have to read that one as well).

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  3. I'm a little intrigued... I would keep reading! :):):):):):):):):):):)

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  4. Have you read O'Nan? This is one of the author's that is most recommended to me by other authors.

    I haven't read any of his work. I really need to!

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  5. I would keep reading because it was Stewart O'Nan! LOL

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  6. So glad you're reading O'Nan. Like Diane says, the follow-up Emily, Alone is just fantastic. My book club is reading his Last Night at the Lobster for December. Hurray for Stewart O'Nan!

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  7. That's a teaser but it didn't make me say definitively yea or nay. I need to read more. I'll wait for your wise opinion.

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  8. I might give it a go, sounds like someone she loved has died.

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  9. I picked up my first O'Nan from Net Galley the other day, The Odds. We'll see if I like it. I'm not sure his style is for me, even though so many love his work.

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  10. I'd keep reading because it's Stewart O'Nan. (Yes, JoAnn has influence me too. I'm reading Last Night at the Lobster.) Just based on those paragraphs, my first thought was that I wouldn't want to have to be the one to clean out her house after she dies.

    I have a First Paragraph too. It's here: Quirky Girls Read

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  11. I don't know if I'd keep reading or not. It just seems so sad.

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  12. LOL I've been influenced too and I am sure you will add to it!! Enjoy.

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  13. I really liked these opening paragraphs. I haven't read this author, but now I'm adding him to my list.

    I like how the paragraphs made me feel. I could connect to the character.

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  14. I liked this intro. I'm pretty sure I'd keep reading to see what comes next.

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  15. The thing about this book is that the characters and plot have SO MUCH POTENTIAL for a good read but NOTHING ever happens!! I kept expecting that people would finally confront issues and have a 'knock down drag out fight'.

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