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Win-It Wednesday: Red Glass by Laura Resau
The winner of Beth Kephart's fabulous Nothing But Ghosts (and it really is fantastic--I just finished reading it and can't wait to share it!) is... Marie! Send me your address, M.
Now, I have to admit that I hadn't seen Red Glass by Laura Resau before it was the readergirlz May pick, despite the fact that it won a gajillion awards. And now I know why--it's amazing. Seriously, you guys will find this story and Laura's fabulous writing so riveting.
You can read about the book's plot here, but I'll just give you a sample of the spot-on images and emotions Laura renders:
"Loneliness was tricky: A cup filled at one moment with freedom, and the next, with emptiness."
"He said that guys my age can't look true beauty in the face--it scares them, blinds them like the sun."
"For a moment I caught a glimpse of how life could be if the sharks turned out to be dolphins. If fear went out like the tide and confidence rushed in to fill its place. If I believed that my bony elbows actually were nice, that maybe there was a shiny stone of greatness buried somewhere inside of me."
Okay, I have to stop or I'll just keep writing a ton of quotes that I flagged in the book. But anyway, it's fantastic. Can't you tell?
So, to enter to win, tell me your favorite sentence/phrase/passage from a book you love. And if you can't think of one, tell me what book you're reading now, open your book to page 17 and write the first full sentence you find below. Just for fun.
And join in the readergirlz talk about Red Glass!
Good luck!
PS-Help Guys Lit Wire pick out some books for a library for incarcerated LA teens (it'll make you feel warm and fuzzy).
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Comments (34)
An oldie but a goodie:
"I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks." ~Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Posted by JenP | May 13, 2009 10:36 AM
I'm not sure if I'm gonna get this right from memory, but here goes "I'd been looking for a sign, and it had been right in front of me the whole time, waiting for me to be ready to find it" (that's kind of paraphrased-I don't have the book handy) from The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen.
Posted by Leann J | May 13, 2009 10:57 AM
I just finished a fun book last night. "How not to have the perfect wedding". Each chapter was from a different voice. My favorite book of all is "The Time Travelers Wife" but I gave it to my MIL. So, I will pick a random off the bookshelf: Page 17 sentence one "In the big gray hospital, the doctors could only play at treating Winkie." from Winkie by Clifford Chase about a teddy bear who ends up being sought after by the FBI.
Posted by Raffi | May 13, 2009 11:30 AM
What little they knew about Schultz, came from living in the buildings he'd made.
(Ok, I know that's not exciting but it's what I saw on page 17)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Posted by Ann | May 13, 2009 11:42 AM
My favorite quote will forever be the ending to The Great Gatsby. Classic, I know, but it's such a powerful mixture of hope and loss.
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
Posted by Lauren | May 13, 2009 12:13 PM
I can't remember if this was in the book or not. So I may not be answering correctly but this is my favorite line ever "And it still isn't over" from The Notebook
Posted by bridget3420 | May 13, 2009 12:47 PM
I'm currently reading Sanibel Scribbles by Christine Lemmon. "Write it for me...over here. Good. Thank you," said Rebecca.
Would love to read this one.
Posted by scottsgal | May 13, 2009 3:57 PM
So my all time favorite passage:
I hope he can't see my tears in this light. I burrow my face into his chest and smell the day on his shirt. He clenches his fist against my back and speaks into my neck. His voice is warm.
"I didn't mean to take it this far."
I lift my blurry eyes. "That still means you meant to take it."
--from Teach Me by R.A. Nelson
Posted by Hannah R. | May 13, 2009 4:56 PM
I'm reading The Turnaround.
"Two Brothers walked up a slightly graded rise toward a small market and general store called Nunzio's"
mj.coward[at]gmail.com
Posted by MJ | May 13, 2009 5:35 PM
I am reading Envy: A Luxe novel by Anna Godbersen.
"The giddy piano music from the main floor of Sherry's Restaurant, on Fifth Avenue and Forty-fifth Street, could be heard even in the ladies' lounge, and perhaps might even be said to have infected the women there."
Posted by Ann | May 13, 2009 5:36 PM
I'm currently reading Forest Of Hands and Teeth. "She is on her feet before I even know what's happening."
Posted by Lesley | May 13, 2009 7:00 PM
Please enter me! booksobsession(at)gmail(dot)com
My book is The Secret Life of Bees and here is the random quote: Now, T.Ray scooped up a handful of dirt and let it fall out of his hands.
Posted by Ashley | May 13, 2009 8:38 PM
Please enter me! booksobsession(at)gmail(dot)com
My book is The Secret Life of Bees and here is the random quote: Now, T.Ray scooped up a handful of dirt and let it fall out of his hands.
Posted by Ashley | May 13, 2009 8:38 PM
No need to enter me; just posted this on Win A Book.
Posted by Bridget | May 13, 2009 10:19 PM
"My world was collapsing. I needed those notes. I needed any hope those notes might have offered. And you? You took that hope away. You decided I didn't deserve to have it."
-Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Thanks for this opportunity! :D
Posted by Cyndi | May 13, 2009 11:11 PM
This is fun!
"She had gone to some hoity-toity party on the Upper East Side the night before, and the hostess had bragged for hours about the organic dim sum she had served, and how Jennifer Aniston only ordered from the place whenever she was in town."
~~~~~Death's Daughter by Amber Benson
Please do count me in!
gautami.tripathy[at]gmail.com
Posted by gautami tripathy | May 14, 2009 12:22 AM
First sentence on p. 17 in Graceling by Kristin Cashore: "It was a land of seven kingdoms."
I've heard of Red Glass, and I think it sounds interesting!
Posted by Paradox | May 14, 2009 12:32 AM
"I know nothing because I know too much and understand not nearly enough." I love that.
Posted by Valorie | May 14, 2009 1:05 AM
Okay, 'cause no one's mentioned this yet...
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
No need to enter me. :)
Posted by Jacqueline | May 14, 2009 1:08 AM
I'm reading Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr. The first full sentence on page 17 is:
"Quinn, the advisor who'd replaced Niall recently, plopped down on the sofa next to Seth."
I've never heard of Red Glass either, but it sounds really good.
Thanks! :0)
Posted by Dawn M. | May 14, 2009 2:09 AM
Can I have two?
I just finished my ARC of Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev and alongside shakespearian quotes and subtle theatre enuendoes is the the quote; "If you two start singing Les Mis, I'll drop kick you into next week." It seriously made me laugh out loud, mostly because I've said the exact same thing, verbatum, a million times to my theatre friends.
But my all time favorite passage is from John Green's Paper Towns.
"Look at all those cul-de-sacs, those streets that turn in on themselves, all the houses that were built to fall apart. All those paper people living in those paper houses, burning the future to stay warm. All the paper kids drinking beer some bum bought for them at the paper convenience store. Everyone demented with the mania of owning things. All the things paper thin and paper frail. And all the people too. I've lived here for eighteen years and I have never once in my life come across anyone who cares about anything that matters." - Margo Roth Spieglmen
I love that book.
Enter me please :-)
broadway_babee@msn.com
Posted by Kathleen Elizabeth | May 14, 2009 2:54 AM
My favorite quote of all time is also from a book that I adore and will never let go of. From Charles de Lint's book "The Onion Girl"..."Pull back the layers of my life, and you won't find anything at the core. Just a broken child. A hollow girl."
Thanks for the opportunity! Indigo
Posted by Indigo | May 14, 2009 9:33 AM
I love quotes, it's too hard to pick a favourite! But today I shall go with
"I know because I read...Your mind is not a cage. It's a garden. And it requires cultivating."
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
I love the ones you picked out from the book, especially the third one.
Posted by Alexa | May 14, 2009 10:18 AM
I love many lines from my favorite book, Jane Eyre, so here is one of them:
"I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit ... equal--as we are!"
Thanks!
bluebyrd24 at gmail dot com
Posted by Alicia | May 14, 2009 12:24 PM
I am salivating for Red Glass - so, so excited about this one!
The quote that instantly springs to mind is "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" but I'm not really sure Walden is my absolute favorite book, so - let me think.
Oh, I know (this is more or less right):
"I know who you are," said the baby bird. "You are not a hen, you are not a kitten, you are not a dog, you are not a cow, you are not a boat or a plane or a snort. You are a bird, and you are my mother."
-Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman
Posted by Aerin | May 14, 2009 12:31 PM
fun quotes from everyone! Right now I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and on pg 17 is:
But there are others, too, who have no one they love at stake, or who no longer care, who slip among the crowd, taking bets on the kids whose names will be drawn.
Posted by Lena | May 14, 2009 1:18 PM
"You havn't seen untidiness until you've seen a room where gravity has failed twice in different directions"
That's from "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith. He writies futuristic (not quite science fiction) thrillers and he has some of the funniest quotes ever. His books always make me laugh.
Posted by Stephen | May 14, 2009 2:22 PM
Hello! I found your blog from The Story Siren and her post about the relationship authors have with bloggers. I have never read any of your books but as soon as my final exams are over, I NEED things to read, and yours are going to be on the top of my list!
I also think this is a very cool competition and the prize looks brilliant! My favourite line for ANY and all books has to be the first line from 'Silent in the Grave' by Deanna Raybourn. It is a Victorian crime novel and I highly recommend it. The fist lne is:
'To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.'
Love it!
--Roshni (mememememeee.livejournal.com)
Posted by Roshni | May 17, 2009 8:32 AM
my favorite quote comes from private by Kate brian.
"The closet was bigger than any I had ever seen, and filled from end to end with lush sweaters, shimmering tops, silky skirts. The shoes alone were enough to send a girl reeling-"
I wish I had Kiran's closet. Great contest count me in.
Posted by Jessica | May 17, 2009 7:39 PM
I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum's series, and sometimes I judge a book by its opening line. One for the Money has one of the best I've read:
"There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever. Joseph Morelli did this to me - not forever, but periodically."
Posted by Jamie | May 17, 2009 10:04 PM
"Catherine Murphy continued to have lots of babies and look longinly at mom and her life."
It's from That Went Well, a book I am currently reading.
Posted by Violet | May 18, 2009 11:02 AM
"An hour of his time, just a few chords, two verses and a chorus. He'd been writing music all his life, but in the end it would be the only song he was known for. Even in death, my father was a one-hit wonder. Or two, I guess, if you count me."
THIS LULLABY by Sarah Dessen
Posted by Brittany T. | May 19, 2009 11:35 AM
I'm a librarian, so my favorite:
"When the going gets tough, the tough get a librarian." Joan Bauer, Best Foot Forward
Posted by Laurie | May 27, 2009 2:33 PM
Thx, this has definitely made my day!
_______________________
wtf
Posted by LarryXA | November 6, 2009 3:09 PM