First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!
For this week's First Chapter Tuesday I thought I would share some intros from two books that I've just started reading!
For this week's First Chapter Tuesday I thought I would share some intros from two books that I've just started reading!
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
trans. Philip Gabriel, Ted Goossen
trans. Philip Gabriel, Ted Goossen
Excerpt:
PROLOGUE
"Today when I awoke from a nap the faceless man was there before me. He was seated on the chair across from the sofa I’d been sleeping on, staring straight at me with a pair of imaginary eyes in a face that wasn’t.
The man was tall, and he was dressed the same as when I had seen him last. His face-that-wasn’t-a-face was half hidden by a wide-brimmed black hat, and he had on a long, equally dark coat.
“I came here so you could draw my portrait,” the faceless man said, after he’d made sure I was fully awake. His voice was low, toneless, flat. “You promised you would. You remember?”
CHAPTER 1: IF THE SURFACE IS FOGGED UP
From May until early the following year, I lived on top of a mountain near the entrance to a narrow valley. Deep in the valley it rained constantly in the summer, but outside the valley it was usually sunny. This was due to the southwest wind that blew off the ocean. Moist clouds carried by the wind entered the valley, bringing rain as they made their way up the slopes. The house was built right on the boundary line, so often it would be sunny out in front while heavy rain fell in back. At first I found this disconcerting, but as I got used to it, it came to seem natural."
The man was tall, and he was dressed the same as when I had seen him last. His face-that-wasn’t-a-face was half hidden by a wide-brimmed black hat, and he had on a long, equally dark coat.
“I came here so you could draw my portrait,” the faceless man said, after he’d made sure I was fully awake. His voice was low, toneless, flat. “You promised you would. You remember?”
CHAPTER 1: IF THE SURFACE IS FOGGED UP
From May until early the following year, I lived on top of a mountain near the entrance to a narrow valley. Deep in the valley it rained constantly in the summer, but outside the valley it was usually sunny. This was due to the southwest wind that blew off the ocean. Moist clouds carried by the wind entered the valley, bringing rain as they made their way up the slopes. The house was built right on the boundary line, so often it would be sunny out in front while heavy rain fell in back. At first I found this disconcerting, but as I got used to it, it came to seem natural."
Since this book has a prologue as well, I decided to do as I usually do and include a snippet of both that and the first chapter.
I've been looking for to reading Killing Commendatore since it was release in Japan two (?) years ago and the wait has felt endless. It was published in English as of a few months ago and I'm finally finding the time to sink into this one. I'm already loving it and can't wait to keep going.
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
I've been looking for to reading Killing Commendatore since it was release in Japan two (?) years ago and the wait has felt endless. It was published in English as of a few months ago and I'm finally finding the time to sink into this one. I'm already loving it and can't wait to keep going.
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
Excerpt:
"PEOPLE WOULD SAY
People would say she came to Qaanaaq in a skiff towed by a killer whale harnessed to the front like a horse. In these stories, which grew astonishingly elaborate in the days and weeks after her arrival, the polar bear paced beside her on the flat bloody deck of the boat.
Her face was clenched and angry. She wore battle armor built from thick scavenged plastic. At her feet, in heaps, were the kind of weird weapons and machines that refugee-camp ingenuity had been producing; strange tools fashioned from the wreckage of Manhattan or Mumbai. Her fingers twitched along the walrus-ivory handle of her blade. She had come to do something horrific in Qaanaaq, and she could not wait to start.
You have heard these stories. You may even have told them. Stories are valuable here. They are what we brought when we came here; they are what cannot be taken away from us."
Goodreads
"PEOPLE WOULD SAY
People would say she came to Qaanaaq in a skiff towed by a killer whale harnessed to the front like a horse. In these stories, which grew astonishingly elaborate in the days and weeks after her arrival, the polar bear paced beside her on the flat bloody deck of the boat.
Her face was clenched and angry. She wore battle armor built from thick scavenged plastic. At her feet, in heaps, were the kind of weird weapons and machines that refugee-camp ingenuity had been producing; strange tools fashioned from the wreckage of Manhattan or Mumbai. Her fingers twitched along the walrus-ivory handle of her blade. She had come to do something horrific in Qaanaaq, and she could not wait to start.
You have heard these stories. You may even have told them. Stories are valuable here. They are what we brought when we came here; they are what cannot be taken away from us."
Goodreads
I've had this on my TBR for way too long. I finally have my hands on a copy and hope to actually get this read before the end of the year!
What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!)
*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.
