Friday Fun - September 28th, 2018

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

Yep, we are still waiting on book 4 in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger. If the person who has it out from the library returns it on time, we have about a three week wait. Which puts us really really close to the release of book 7. Tabitha is really hoping to read the rest of the series before book 7 is released, as am I. 

Last week I had mentioned that I had the Lorien Legacies Reborn series in the library book box but was waiting to read them until I was done with The Land of Stories. Today I realized the second book in that series is due, so I put the Land of Stories book down and picked up Generation One, because I can't remember very many details as I read it a year ago. So, I am reading two books: The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey by Chris Colfer, and Generation One by Pittacus Lore. As I shared snippets from Generation One a couple of weeks ago, today I will be sharing from An Author's Odyssey.

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey by Chris Colfer.

From the Prologue:

"Willow Crest Unified School District spared no expense celebrating the retirement of a beloved principal. The community banquet hall was decorated so elegantly, there wasn't a trace of Senior Bingo from the night before."

Well, that was a bit different. Obviously this was back in the real world and I knew who the retirement party was for. The question was, why was the author coming back here. I thought I might know, but I wasn't quite sure.

From Chapter 1:

"The air was filled with so much smoke, you could barely see the sky. Every time it was cleared by a strong wind, it was quickly replenished from another pillaged town or forest fire."

Well, things aren't looking good for the fairy tale world at the beginning of this book. No surprise for anyone who read the previous book. But it sure was a bit depressing to see how bad things had gotten.

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection.

 The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey by Chris Colfer

"'You will get what I promised once the royals have been recaptured and executed,' the Masked Man said, 'You agreed to make me an emperor, and I won't be a true emperor until all my adversaries have been destroyed!'"

Friday Fun - September 21st, 2018

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

Well, we are still waiting on book 4 in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger. I do still have the Lorien Legacies Reborn series in the library book box, but I decided I needed to finish the Land of Stories books we have out first, seeing as they will be due sooner. Plus, I stopped The Enchantress Returns halfway through. So, I actually finished that book, plus the third in the series, A Grimm Warning, and am now reading book number four in this fun, imaginative tale by Chris Colfer called Beyond the Kingdoms.

Today I will be sharing my Book Beginnings and Friday 56 from these two books.

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer.

"It was no mystery why this part of the countryside had been christened the Black Forest. The abnormally dark leaves and tree bark were nearly impossible to see in the night."

This is from the prologue, and it was a bit different than how the other books in the series began. I honestly had no clue what was going on, but was eager to find out. This seen took place 200 years prior to the events in the story and I was so curious how they fit into the story.

Here is my book beginnings for The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer.

"In the cozy study of his home, Hans Christian Andersen was busy writing at his desk."

Well, having read book 3, I had a better idea where this prologue was coming from, and I was quite intrigued. I couldn't wait to read more back story.

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here are my Friday 56 selections. 

The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer

"They hadn't said a word to Conner since the school year began. Instead, they would just stare daggers at him from afar-as if he had publicly humiliated them in the past and never apologized for it."

The Legacy Chronicles: Trial By Fire by Pittacus Lore

"No matter how logical it was to her, the Fairy Council refused to believe the two were connected. Alex did the best she could to keep her frustration in check, but she could feel it bubbling up inside her like a volcano."

Friday Fun - September 14 2018

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

Though books 5 and 6 of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger are now in my possession, it appears it is going to be quite the wait for book number 4. Seems we are second in line, which means if the book gets returned on time it will still be another month before we get it. I can't believe there is only one copy in our entire library system (of 50 libraries). I did start The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer, but I sort of put it aside when I spied a new book in the I Am Number Four Series at the library. 

The Legacy Chronicles: Trial By Fire by Pittacus Lore is a collection of three short stories that feature Sam and Six from the I am Number Four series. This story takes place "behind the scenes" while the events of Generation One are taking place (from what I can figure).  When I found this book, I was also thrilled to see the sequel to Generation One was also out. I can't wait to read Fugitive Six in the Legacies Reborn series, but first I plan on reading Generation One, as it has been awhile. So, today's Book Beginnings and Friday 56 are coming from Generation One and The Legacy Chronicles Trial by Fire. 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for Generation One by Pittacus Lore.

"The week before the invasion, Kopano's father, Udo, sold their TV. Despite his mother's fervent prayers for his father to find a new job, Udo was unemployed and they were three months behind on rent."

Didn't quite know where this was going at all, when I first read it last year. It was quite a bit different from the I am Number Four series. But I am glad I stuck with it, even with all these new characters and such.

Here is my book beginnings for The Legacy Chronicles: Trial By Fire by Pittacus Lore.

The city was coming back to life. As Six and Sam walked up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan's middle latitudes, they were surrounded by crews repairing the damage from the Mogadorian invasion that had taken place more than a year earlier. While huge swaths of the city had been reduced to rubble, new buildings were rising from the ashes of the old."

Now this is more of what I expected to hear from a followup of the I am Number Four series. Of course, I have already read Generation One, so I know what is going on. But it was so nice to see Sam and Six again. I couldn't wait to read the rest of this book.

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here are my Friday 56 selections. 

Generation One by Pittacus Lore

"She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just tired. Then, Taylor reached for the salt and the little glass shaker slid across the table right into her waiting palm. The looked at each other."

The Legacy Chronicles: Trial By Fire by Pittacus Lore

"Six took it. A moment later, she felt a warmth penetrate her skin. Surprised, she looked into Edwige's face. The girl looked back at her, expressionless, and almost imperceptibly shook her head. She held Six's hand for another moment, then let go. Six ran her fingertips over her palm. There was no cut."