Friday, May 20, 2011

Book Beginnings...on a Friday


 
A little bit of fun on a Friday, this weekly meme is hosted by A Few More Pages. 
I'll share the first line (or two) of the book I'm currently reading (including the title and author) and let you know what my first impressions are - good or bad!

I don't read many short stories, but over my bowl of cereal lately I've been reading a short story each morning.  Short story writing is such a clever skill to have and I've been drawn in by so many of the beginnings to each of them. So, I thought I'd share a couple this Friday.

These come from the short stories of An Elegy for Easterly, by Petina Gappah.

"Mr Vaswani of Vaswani Brothers General Dealers was the first Indian that I saw closely enough to count the teeth in his mouth and the buttons on his shirt."
From Aunt Juliana's Indian

"'You should not play outside in the rain when you are wearing red,' SisiBlandina said to Munay and me. 'Lightning likes things that are red and it will hunt you out and strike you down and burn you from inside out. And you must not sit out on the road otherwise you will grow festering boils on your bottom'"
From The Maid from Lalapanzi

And what's more the stories are just as intriguing as their beginnings!
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10 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 20, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    I love short sotires too! It's such a clever art and one of the things I wouldn't be capable of!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  2. Laurel-Rain SnowMay 20, 2011 at 7:48 AM

    Wow, such intriguing tidbits! Thanks for sharing.

    Here's MY FRIDAY MEMES POST

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  3. SherrieMay 20, 2011 at 7:49 AM

    Hi!
    Sound intriguing. Love the lighting story, never heard that one before. Have a great day!

    Sherrie
    Just Books
    http://sherriesbooks.blogspot.com/2011/05/friday-memes.html

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  4. Tales of WhimsyMay 20, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    Ouch. The second was is harsh but good!

    Great start!

    If you have a chance, check out my BBF:)

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  5. Yvonne @ Fiction Books ReviewsMay 20, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    Hello Ann,

    What some fantastic lines, they certainly had me smiling.

    Short stories are another genre that I have never explored, as they always remind me of magazine stories and I have never bought a magazine, in my entire adult life.

    One of my recent reviews was about South African author Deon Meyer, who maintains that all authors should start their careers by writing short stories first, as they are a great way of disciplining oneself, into writing a definitive, concise plot, with well developed characters.

    I think he may have something there, so perhaps it is time I explored the genre as well.

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  6. Bev HankinsMay 20, 2011 at 3:36 PM

    I wonder what SisiBlandina has against the color red? I'll have to tell my son about red and lightning--that's his favorite color and practically every shirt he wears if red. :-)

    Here's my beginning: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-beginnings-on-friday_20.html

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  7. ham1299May 20, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    Both are very interesting, especially the second one!

    Thanks for stopping by Proud Book Nerd! :-)

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  8. UnknownMay 21, 2011 at 6:23 AM

    Short stories are great, especially for busy life-styles.

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  9. Helen's Book BlogMay 21, 2011 at 6:54 AM

    Those are great beginnings! And I always enjoy books set in India. I hope the stories are wonderful as well!

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  10. KatyMay 23, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    I really enjoy short stories when I'm feeling impatient and don't want to take too long to reach the end of a story. :)

    Thanks for participating in Book Beginnings!

    ReplyDelete

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