Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Top 10 Tuesday - Favorite Beginnings/Endings in Books


Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. It's about making bookish lists and sharing with your book blogger friends.

Top 10 Favorite Beginnings/Endings in Books
Under this topic, I'm sharing my favorite beginning and ending quotes from books. All of them are not my favorite books though.

Beginnings:

In my end is my beginning... That's a quotation I've often heard people say. It sounds all right, but what does it really mean? Is there ever any particular spot where one can put one's finger and say: "It all began that day, at such a time and such a place, with such an incident?”  Endless Night by Agatha Christie (Goodreads | Amazon)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Goodreads | Amazon)
“I sat very still, as befitted a small boy among strangers, staring wide-eyed into a world I did not know. I was six years old and my father was dying. The Lonesome Gods by Louis L'Amour (Goodreads | Amazon)
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling (Goodreads | Amazon)
Scaling the final hill was like climbing into a sea of ice. Up and up we went, one shivering, dogged step after another, woman and mare. My fingers had gone numb, laced in her mane, and I could no longer tell if she pulled me along or the other way round.  Northlight by Deborah Wheeler (Goodreads | Amazon)
Endings:
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Goodreads | Amazon)
And Ellie can never find me again... Endless Night... That's the end of my story... In my end is my beginning - that's what you always say. But what does it mean? And where, exactly, is my beginning? It is up to me to find out...”  Endless Night by Agatha Christie (Goodreads | Amazon)
I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Goodreads | Amazon)

Teaser Tuesday (July 30)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @Should Be Reading. Every week we participate in this meme by sharing two sentences from your currently reading pile. For more information regarding the meme, head over to MizB's blog

My Teaser:

“It was the members of the public who didn't seem to care what was happening on the streets around them, who hurried on by when they saw crimes being committed, too cowardly to intervene. Sometimes it seemed like the 'them' was everyone, and the 'us' was simply me, a lone copper engaged in a one-man battle against the injustices of the world.
-- The Payback by Simon Kernick (p. 62)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

In My Mailbox (July 28)

Happy Sunday!
Hope all of you are having a great weekend. It's been a long time since I did my last IMM post. Today I'm participating again in Story Siren's weekly meme, In My Mailbox. Thanks to my sister for letting me borrow her Simon Kernick thriller, and thanks to author Jason Sandberg for offering me a review copy of his new e-book.
Borrowed:
The Payback by Simon Kernick (Dennis Milne #3) [mystery, thriller, crime]
Goodreads Synopsis: Two cops with pasts that haunt them -- and a present that could see them both dead. They are about to meet. And when they do, it's payback time.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Book Blogger Hop: July 26th - 1st Aug

Welcome to the Blogger Hop hosted by Billy from Rambling of Coffee Addicted Writer. This weekly feature is a great way to connect with new people in the book blogging world.
This Week's Question:
How do you organize your books to be read?

My Answer:
I don't have much space in my home to store books. I buy books and squeeze them in a tiny shelf. I don't arrange them in any reading order, but pick out books depending upon my mood. If I have recently finished a thriller or crime fiction, I might as well pick a light book as my next read. If I don't enjoy a book much I give it away, that way I never get run out of shelf space. But if a book turns out to be a favorite, I never give it away ;)

If you're a new visitor to my blog, feel free to connect with me!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Teaser Tuesday (July 23)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @Should Be Reading. Every week we participate in this meme by sharing two sentences from your currently reading pile. For more information regarding the meme, head over to MizB's blog

My Teasers:

“Out of all the women in the world you've been fortunate to find the right one for you, Harry. But will you be doubly blessed and fortunate enough to keep her?
-- Finders and Keepers by Catrin Collier (p. 473)
Goodreads | Amazon
“Looking around furtively, I felt a pang of jealousy. Having been on the run for so long, I was in a state of perpetual loneliness, and it pained me to see the settled, shared lives of other people, because to do so served as a constant reminder of what I hadn't got.
-- The Payback by Simon Kernick (p. 24)

Friday, July 19, 2013

Book Blogger Hop: July 19th - 25th

Welcome to the Blogger Hop hosted by Billy from Rambling of Coffee Addicted Writer. This weekly feature is a great way to connect with new people in the book blogging world.
This Week's Question:
What is your favorite classic novel? 

My Answer:
I have read very few classic novels and my favorite one is Charles Dicken's Great Expectations. I also love A Tale of Two Cities and Bronte's Wuthering Heights. But when it comes to name one, I would choose Great Expectations. The book touched my heart. It is one of the most unforgettable book I have ever read, my all-time favorite!

If you're a new visitor to my blog, feel free to connect with me!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor

"Don't expect a good night's sleep after reading the end of this book," the book said. And it came out to be true. The book title attracted me to buy the book. The story is based on a real life criminal case, and the crime is a horrible one.
A lady called Ms Phillipa Penhow is missing, last seen at "Bleeding Heart Square." We know right from the beginning that Mr. Joe Serridge is the suspect behind her disappearance, a man with a mysterious past. The story unfolds as we read through the chapters, picking up hints here and there about the missing lady. However, all pieces of the puzzle do not get into place until you reach the last chapter.
There are other characters in the books too, and their life stories turn out to be connected with the Penhow case. It's only a turn of fate which forces Lydia Langstone (wife of a rich notable man) and Rory Wentwood (an unemployed journalist) take refuge in the Bleeding Heart Square, the place haunted with rumors in connection with the missing Miss Penhow. Both are fighting their own battles in life, and something makes Wentwood interested in the Penhow case.
I was expecting to be a detective story, but to my disappointment, it didn't turn out to be one. It was good book though. There are some shocking revelations in the end which an average reader cannot guess.


Quotes:
"Hearts. This is all about hearts, restless or yearning, broken or bleeding." (p. 247)
'Have you ever felt you'd be better off dead, Mr Wentwood?'
'I imagine most of us have. But think of the mess it would make.'
'Life's messy enough anyway. What's a little more here or there.' (p. 208)
My Rating:

Friday, July 12, 2013

Book Blogger Hop: July 12th - 18th

Welcome to the Blogger Hop hosted by Billy from Rambling of Coffee Addicted Writer. This weekly feature is a great way to connect with new people in the book blogging world.
This Week's Question:
How long have you been blogging?

My Answer:
I set up my book blog back in December 2010, and have been blogging on and off ever since. I try to review all the books I read. Although I love mystery and thrillers, but occasionally I keep switching to historical, classic and rarely fantasy.
In the beginning book blogging was my sole obsession, but later I got busy with my studies and job. However, I cannot live away from my blog for a long time. And this is why I'm back again!
If you're a new visitor to my blog, feel free to connect with me!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Teaser Tuesday (July 9)


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @Should Be Reading. Every week we participate in this meme by sharing two sentences from your currently reading pile. For more information regarding the meme, head over to MizB's blog
My Teaser:
As it sounds, my teaser is a boring one.
Are you going to marry her and breed a column of solemn-faced lecturers who'll think it their duty to bore the world?
-- Finders and Keepers by Catrin Collier (p. 145)