Teaser Tuesday - Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg

"We never graduate from first grade. Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking water; we don't drink a glass once and never have to drink one again. We don't finish a novel or poem and never have to write one again. Over and over, we begin." - p. 9, WILD MIND, LIVING THE WRITER'S LIFE by Natalie Goldberg 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday: The Secret Tree

"I found myself in front of a big, old elm tree. It had a hole in its trunk bigger than my head, and when I pressed my hand against its thick bark, it vibrated like a hive full of bees." - p. 11, The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford.

Book Description: A sweet story of a tree that's literally filled with secrets. Ages 9 and up. 

Author website

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading

Teaser Tuesday: The Night Swimmer

"It began with a dart, a pint, and a poem, three elements that seemed to demonstrate the imprecise nature of fate. When Fred stepped up to the line, the dart held loosely in his hand, you could see in the way he carried his body the assurances of a man who was well prepared." p. 3 - The Night Swimmer by Matt Bondurant

From Amazon: The poignant unraveling of a marriage, the fierce beauty of the natural world, the mysterious power of Irish lore, and the gripping story of strangers in a strange land rife with intrigue and violence—The Night Swimmer is a novel of myriad enchantments by a writer of extraordinary talent.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear author Matt Bondurant read from his recent novel, The Night Swimmer. I'm looking forward to diving into this interesting story, as well as his previous works like The Wettest County In The World, a novel that's been made into a movie and will release this summer. 

Check out the author's website.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can participate.

Teaser Tuesday: The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

"It wasn't as if Bernice ever actually chased after Samuel. She just managed to drape herself someplace where he couldn't help but see her, and she talked to him in the silky, honey-drip voice, and she acted, well-- amused." p. 77, The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield.

From the jacket: Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. Read more

Teaser Tuesday: A Guitar and a Pen

Today's teaser is from A Guitar and A Pen: Stories by Country Music's Greatest Songwriters edited by novelist Robert Hicks, New York Times Bestselling author of The Widow of the South.

What a great idea, right?

This collection includes stories from Kris Kristofferson, Hal Ketchum, Tom T. Hall, Marshall Chapman and many others.

From the bookjacket: Nothing tells a story better than the story-songs of country music. A GUITAR AND A PEN presents, for the first time, the literary work of some of the best storytellers in the world: the songwriters who cut and polish tales down to sparkling three-minute gems.
I recently had the privilege of meeting Robert Hicks and hearing all about this unique book. Here's a teaser from Hicks' short story in this collection, titled Gathering Together.

"If it had been any real member of our family or any other in-law, my grandmother would have ignored the cremation request. She would have reminded, gently, those who mourned that such a request was made by someone not in his or her right mind. 'What if he had asked to be stuffed and mounted? Would we follow his wishes and drive on over to the taxidermist?' Her arguments would have been clear and overwhelming. We buried our dead." - p - 69


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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at Should Be Reading

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

"Could it be that I heard it more this way: Time passes, but not so aggressively that anyone notices? Or even, time passes, but not for me? Could it be that I did not figure in either the general nature of the permanence of the slowing, the irreversible changes in mind and body, the way in which you wake one summer morning less resilient than you were and by Christmas find your ability to mobilize gone, atrophied, no longer extant?" - p. 17, Blue Nights by Joan Didion

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This is a beautiful, poignant memoir on aging and reflection. I feel blessed that I read it at my current age, while my children are still so young. It was like having a wise older friend sit at my kitchen table and give me a glimpse of what's to come in 30 years and remind me that I should savor and soak up the joy of my present life and role as a mother. I recommend this for all ages, but particularly, for mothers and fathers of school age children.

Teaser Tuesday: The Storm At The Door

"There is the house in the wilderness.. The house, Echo Cottage, with  the lake spread before it,  a quivering lattice of light in the late afternoon." - p. 1, THE STORM AT THE DOOR by Stefan Merrill Block

From the book jacket: The past is not past for Katharine Merrill. Even after two decades of volatile marriage, Katharine still believes she can have the life she felt promised to her by those first exhilarating days with her husband, Frederick. Read more.


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play.