I've tried. The pull is magnetic. I see a row of titled spines and my my breath catches in my throat. My pulse quickens. I spy a book sale and my heart palpitates. I know I have issues.
I've compromised by only allowing myself books in thrift stores or libraries, not from new book stores. But then there's Amazon--with one click I can have a new read (even used!) tagging along with whatever necessity it was I needed and on my doorstep in a couple days--and Kindle, and Audible. The fact that we are completely out of shelf space has done little to curb my book hoarding issue. Not to mention the sheer amount of time it will take to read everything I've collected. I imagine some day having so much free time that I will be able to devour books at leisure, with each page offering new and exciting possibilities. As Aidan would say, "It smells like adventure in here!" I try not to think of the fact that I have children who won't be "done" being homeschooled until I am 53. FIFTY-THREE.
Just imagine, shelves spanning the entire far wall, floor to ceiling, surrounding the window, with a pillow-smothered bench built in below the window.
It's been three years since I introduced you all to my bookshelves in this post, Books, Books, Books, and true to my prediction, the walls of our "new house" have become lined with mismatching bookshelves yet again. It's just not home without a gazillion books, a billion house plants, and a dog curled under a blanket.
The main bookshelves in the dining room: the first, for my collection of antique and vintage books, fantasy and myth, classics, and hobby/interests; the second, for religious, novels, the rest of the classics, photo albums, and baby books.
My side of the couch in the living room with the children's read-aloud shelf and my new stack of library discards I just bought that need a shelf to call home (and earbuds and phone charger for Audible).
School bookshelf, and some of the new library discards that need to be squeezed onto the shelves.
Top baskets for currently reading and library books, newspapers I need to read, readers, book report books, saint stories, and middle-grade books.
Cookbook shelf in the kitchen
Addie's bookshelf waiting to be filled in the coming years (she's got a start!); Aidan's bookshelf that never has all his books in it (there are piles scattered around his bed) and doubles as a "treasure" hoarding cabinet.
The shelf in Gavin/Ian's room (which doubles as the playroom) and is also missing many of it's books, scattered elsewhere throughout the room.
I read about a new method of picking out books on a blog somewhere a couple years ago. The post reviewed ten books (or so) that the author picked out simply by reading the first line of the book. Her theory was that the first line of a book could make or break a book, and therefore would be a good meter to judge by. In testing the theory, you weren't allowed to make a judgment based on the book's cover art, and were not allowed to read the plot summary on the back or dust jacket.
I'm often rushed when picking up new titles, and I'll admit I often choose books simply because of the attractiveness or intrigue of the cover. So I decided to try out the first-line-of-a-book-gauging theory for myself. Apparently there are more books which intrigue me with their first line than those that snare me with "first-cover-glance". Normally I can escape the thrift store with two or three new books. This was the result of First-Line Book Shopping:
I did pick up a couple books from my favorites, or other recognized authors, but the main goals here were to both test the "first-line-as-a-gauge" theory, and also to broaden my reading horizons. I often fall into the rut of only reading works that are classics or by my favorite authors. Among the books I found were a hardcover copy of "Lord of the Rings" to replace my paperback, an extra copy of "Aesop's Fables"(the read-aloud for unit 8 of our history), and "Stellaluna", along with a couple other children's books. It took me a very long while to read all the books I picked up during this particular trip. I even forgot about this experiment for a time, but I think I finally made it through the stack!
The Books and Their First Lines
- One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
"I leave this record for my dear children, Hortense and William, in the event that they never see their loving mother again and so that they might one day know the truth of my unjust incarceration, my escape from Hell, and into whatever is to come in these pages..."
The first line promises adventure, and yet, this book is one of the reasons why I don't often branch out into unfamiliar book territory. Life is so short, and there are so many bad or sub-par books out there. My OCD makes it very difficult to leave a book unfinished, and if I do I have a nagging sense of anxiety that I left something important unfinished. This story was supposed to be the journal of a pioneer woman belonging to the "Brides for Indians" program in the 1800's...written by a man, and very poorly done. I had to skip over certain crude parts that I did not care to read.
👎 First-Line-Gauge: inaccurate
- The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
"There was a strong smell of smoke, and new fear fueled me." (I confess, had to read more....) "Now on the familiar path, I raced ahead, unmindful of my daughter behind me, trying to keep up."
The first line had me impulsively skipping to the second line to see what was next. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though again, there were some parts that I skimmed over as I felt it went into a bit too much detail that I didn't care to read. This book was set in colonial times in the south and detailed the lives of slaves of the kitchen house. It told the story of not only abuses they suffered at the hands of their masters, but also kindnesses they were shown. This book kept me in suspense and was a literal roller coaster of emotion...definitely not a "feel good" read. It had me holding my breath and exclaiming out loud trying to tell the characters what to do--or what not to do.
👍 First-Line-Gauge: accurate
- The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler
"In a small room off a banquet hall in Montreal, Lily Kramer sat in silence with her new husband."
If I was to gauge this first line it would be mediocre, which was fitting for the book. Some books have so much potential, it's quite disappointing when they fall flat. I would have been much more disappointed had I known what this book was supposed to be beforehand. Refugees of war (WWII to be exact), concentration camps, the mystery of a woman who built a life (and then abandoned it) on an identity she stole to escape her war-torn Poland...this book had it all, but bombed anyway. It wasn't bad enough to quit reading, but did not earn a permanent space on my shelf. A slow read, no build up to an exciting moment, no plot twist, and Jewish main characters I had very little in common with: this book was re-thrifted on finishing.
👎 First-Line-Gauge: accurate
- The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
"Pamela Buchanan Marshfield saw the ad the homeless shelter in Vermont had placed in the newspaper before her attorney did."
What in the world could a homeless shelter and an attorney have in common? I made the mistake of missing that this book had a Prologue in reading this first sentence. It would have been enough to keep me from actually buying the book, and in the end proclaimed this the last of Chris Bohjalian's books that I would ever read. I recognized his name from the book "Midwives" I read a few years ago, and hoped that this book would not contain the crudeness the other did since it was on different subject matter. But it did, which again left certain spots that I skipped over. It seems to be an unfortunate theme among modern books. Besides the obvious issues, I found myself correcting grammatical errors in the text (have the rules of grammar changed in the last 20 years? How did this book pass editing?) and rewriting boggling sentences in my mind. Mr. Bohjalian dipped a little into religious topics a couple times, and made it obvious that he didn't have a clue what certain terms meant or how to use them. Very poorly written. Not surprisingly, since I read (and trashed) this book it's one I now often see on thrift store shelves.
👎 First-Line-Gauge: inaccurate
- Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
"He is coming on the Lord's Day."
I did not choose this book for the riveting first line, but to test the theory backwards: does a boring, unimaginative first line mean a boring book? Set in Martha's Vineyard before it was Martha's Vineyard in 1665, this story tells the tale of the first settlers there, their relationship with the local Indians, and the first Indian School. The story branched out of research the author had done into the history of the area. I was so excited I happened upon another historical novel by accident! At first hard to get into because I was jumping into the book blind, it soon had me hooked, and turned into a good read. This is one I never would have picked up because of the cover or the first line, but I'm glad I did!
👍 First-Line-Gauge: inaccurate
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
"Old Henry Lee stood transfixed by all the commotion at the Panama Hotel."
Not exactly a gripping first line, but intriguing nonetheless. This story was hard for me to get into at first, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It told the story of two Japanese children, good friends, who were separated during the Japanese internment during World War II, with their story beginning in the twilight of their lives. I felt like the book ended too soon with so much of the story yet untold. It left me feeling reminiscent and a little sad like a cold drizzly day. While being overall a good read, there were a couple apparent historical inaccuracies I caught: one, that CD's were popular in 1986, and implications that a computer was used the same year to find someone.
👍 First-Line-Gauge: accurate
- The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
"John Moses couldn't have chosen a worse day, or a worse way to die, if he'd planned it for a lifetime."
One of the best first lines I've ever read, this book proved to be just as good. I fell into this story and became emotionally caught up in the life of the Lake family, rejoicing with them over small victories and feeling sorrow over their trials, complete with gasp-out-loud moments and verbal exclamations at the unsavory characters I wanted desperately to intervene with. Set in the 1950's in rural Arkansas, a family reunion is darkened by a family tragedy and becomes the springboard for the events to follow; namely, how Samuel Lake, a traveling preacher, loses his employment and the repercussions all this has for his family. I plan to read this book again down the road.
👍 First-Line-Gauge: accurate
- Cane River by Lolita Tademy
"My great-grandmother Emily died in bed at her Louisiana home at the end of the summer of 1936, with $1,300 in cash hidden under her mattress."
There are so many stories of slavery that come out of the south, and this is one of the best (albeit tragic) that I've read. The author wove the tale of her ancestors into an intriguing account of what life was like for her grandmothers in pre-Civil War Louisiana. My heart ached, and I was repulsed by so many of the things that were just part of life for them.
👍 First-Line-Gauge: accurate
- Losing Battles by Eudora Welty
"When the rooster crowed, the moon had still not left the world but was going down on flushed cheek, one day short of the full."
I tried to read this book several times, and each time upon starting I just could not get into it. It seemed all over the place, manic, disorganized, using dialogue understood better by natives of Mississippi. I started it around the time of my last miscarriage, and my brain was not where it usually is. Sitting down here to peruse it better, it appears to be a complex, multi-layered story full of humor about a family reunion. It also has some good reviews going for it, so this may be one I need to revisit. For now I'm going with my first impression.
👎
- Wedding Pictures by Jacqueline Carey
"KIP: I adore your sister. We had a great time when she was in New York."
Again, I ventured out of my comfort zone with this novel, hoping for a surprise, but with a disappointing conclusion. The book is satire, supposed to be funny, and is written like a play. Totally not my style, which the first line did forewarn. I didn't even finish it.
👎 First-Line-Gauge: accurate
In conclusion, I found the theory that the first line of a book will make or break a book generally held true. It was far from a hard and fast rule, however, and while this was a fun theory to test, I'm going back to my old-standard method of choosing books: study the cover, read the plot summary, and then read the first few sentences before thumbing through the pages.
No comments:
Post a Comment