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!
I'm planning to read a lot of awesome books over the next few weeks (fingers crossed I actually do!), so I thought I'd share those this week instead of the Top Ten/Five Tuesday posts. As always, I tend to share the first two-three chapters instead because I feel like it helps to give just a bit more to entice the reader.
Excerpt:
CHAPTER 1
Heaven Awaiting
I'm planning to read a lot of awesome books over the next few weeks (fingers crossed I actually do!), so I thought I'd share those this week instead of the Top Ten/Five Tuesday posts. As always, I tend to share the first two-three chapters instead because I feel like it helps to give just a bit more to entice the reader.
The Terror by Dan Simmons
Excerpt:CHAPTER 1
Heaven Awaiting
"CROZIER
Lat. 70°-05′ N., Long. 98°-23′ W.
October, 1847
Captain Crozier comes up on deck to find his ship under attack by celestial ghosts. Above him—above Terror—shimmering folds of light lunge but then quickly withdraw like the colourful arms of aggressive but ultimately uncertain spectres. Ectoplasmic skeletal fingers extend toward the ship, open, prepare to grasp, and pull back.
The temperature is–50 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping fast. Because of the fog that came through earlier, during the single hour of weak twilight now passing for their day, the foreshortened masts—the three topmasts, topgallants, upper rigging, and highest spars have been removed and stored to cut down on the danger of falling ice and to reduce the chances of the ship capsizing because of the weight of ice on them—stand now like rudely pruned and topless trees reflecting the aurora that dances from one dimly seen horizon to the other. As Crozier watches, the jagged ice fields around the ship turn blue, then bleed violet, then glow as green as the hills of his childhood in northern Ireland. Almost a mile off the starboard bow, the gigantic floating ice mountain that hides Terror's sister ship, Erebus, from view seems for a brief, false moment to radiate colour from within, glowing from its own cold, internal fires."
Lat. 70°-05′ N., Long. 98°-23′ W.
October, 1847
Captain Crozier comes up on deck to find his ship under attack by celestial ghosts. Above him—above Terror—shimmering folds of light lunge but then quickly withdraw like the colourful arms of aggressive but ultimately uncertain spectres. Ectoplasmic skeletal fingers extend toward the ship, open, prepare to grasp, and pull back.
The temperature is–50 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping fast. Because of the fog that came through earlier, during the single hour of weak twilight now passing for their day, the foreshortened masts—the three topmasts, topgallants, upper rigging, and highest spars have been removed and stored to cut down on the danger of falling ice and to reduce the chances of the ship capsizing because of the weight of ice on them—stand now like rudely pruned and topless trees reflecting the aurora that dances from one dimly seen horizon to the other. As Crozier watches, the jagged ice fields around the ship turn blue, then bleed violet, then glow as green as the hills of his childhood in northern Ireland. Almost a mile off the starboard bow, the gigantic floating ice mountain that hides Terror's sister ship, Erebus, from view seems for a brief, false moment to radiate colour from within, glowing from its own cold, internal fires."
I've been want to read this one for so long that sometimes I forget I haven't already read it! This checks off all of my boxes of favorites, from the arctic setting to the haunting and more. Can't wait to (hopefully) get through this tome!
Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound
Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound
Confessions by Kanae Minato
Excerpt:Chapter One
The Saint
"Once you finish your milk, please put the carton back in the box. Make sure you return it to the space with your number on it and then get back to your desk. It looks like everyone is just about done. Since today is the last day of the school year, we will also be marking the end of “Milk Time.” Thanks to all of you for participating. I also heard some of you wondering whether the program would be continuing next year, but I can tell you now that it won’t. This year, we were designated as a model middle school for the Health Ministry’s campaign to promote dairy products. We were asked to have each of you drink a carton of milk every day, and now we’re looking forward to the annual school physicals in April to see whether your height and bone mass come in above the national averages.
Yes, I suppose you could say that we’ve been using you as guinea pigs, and I’m sure this year wasn’t very pleasant for those of you who are lactose intolerant or who simply don’t like milk. But the school was randomly selected for the program, and each classroom was supplied with the daily milk cartons and the box to hold them, with cubbyholes for your carton to identify each of you by seat number; and it’s true that we’ve kept track of who drank the milk and who didn’t. But why should you be making faces now when you were drinking the milk happily enough a few minutes ago? What’s wrong with being asked to drink a little milk every day? You’re about to enter puberty. Your bodies will be growing and changing, and you know drinking milk helps build strong bones. But how many of you actually drink it at home? And the calcium is good for more than just your bones; you need it for the proper development of your nervous system. Low levels of calcium can make you nervous and jumpy."
Yes, I suppose you could say that we’ve been using you as guinea pigs, and I’m sure this year wasn’t very pleasant for those of you who are lactose intolerant or who simply don’t like milk. But the school was randomly selected for the program, and each classroom was supplied with the daily milk cartons and the box to hold them, with cubbyholes for your carton to identify each of you by seat number; and it’s true that we’ve kept track of who drank the milk and who didn’t. But why should you be making faces now when you were drinking the milk happily enough a few minutes ago? What’s wrong with being asked to drink a little milk every day? You’re about to enter puberty. Your bodies will be growing and changing, and you know drinking milk helps build strong bones. But how many of you actually drink it at home? And the calcium is good for more than just your bones; you need it for the proper development of your nervous system. Low levels of calcium can make you nervous and jumpy."
I read Minato's Penance a couple years back and wasn't necessarily in love with it, but I knew I wanted to check out some of her books one day as well--and that day has finally come! This is a fairly odd introduction, but it definitely grips me and the synopsis of the book absolutely intrigues me, so I'm looking forward to starting this book.
Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
Excerpt:But the little girls adapted.
"It’s been raining for the past three months. Or maybe it’s only been three days. Time is hard to measure here — every day so much like the one before, they all start to blend together.
Rain taps on my school-provided slicker, the inside of the clear plastic material growing foggy in the humid air, and I look around the Federal Flower Garden. Precipitation has soaked the soil, causing it to run onto the pathways as the rose petals sag with moisture.
The other girls are gathered around Professor Penchant, listening attentively as he points out the varied plant species, explaining which ones we’ll be growing back at the school this semester in our gardening class. We grow all manner of things at the Innovations Academy.
A thought suddenly occurs to me, and I take a few steps into the garden, my black shoes sinking into the soil. There are red roses as far as I can see, beautiful and lonely. Lonely because it’s only them — all together, but apart from the other flowers. Isolated."
Rain taps on my school-provided slicker, the inside of the clear plastic material growing foggy in the humid air, and I look around the Federal Flower Garden. Precipitation has soaked the soil, causing it to run onto the pathways as the rose petals sag with moisture.
The other girls are gathered around Professor Penchant, listening attentively as he points out the varied plant species, explaining which ones we’ll be growing back at the school this semester in our gardening class. We grow all manner of things at the Innovations Academy.
A thought suddenly occurs to me, and I take a few steps into the garden, my black shoes sinking into the soil. There are red roses as far as I can see, beautiful and lonely. Lonely because it’s only them — all together, but apart from the other flowers. Isolated."
This is another one that I've been dying to check out! This introduction definitely has me curious about a lot of different things already--especially with wanting to learn more about the Innovations Academy.
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.
