Pretentious Reader

On the island of By-the-Sea you could always smell two things: salt and magic. Something short and sweet for today's first line. Visit Hoarding Books Blog to join in the fun and visit other awesome first lines.

First published in 1844. This is a humorous short story and a satire about the gullibility of the public when reading about incredulous and unbelievable stories in the newspaper. On that same year Poe published at the New York Sun about Monck Mason's trip crossing the Atlantic Ocean in three days aboard a gas balloon which turned out to be untrue and is now known as The Balloon-Hoax. The Angel of the Odd is about an unnamed narrator who reads about a death in the newspaper where a man accidentally swallowed a needle from a blowpipe. He thinks that it is ridiculous and vows to never believe such odd stories, just then an odd being appears and proclaims to be the Angel of the Odd. The man of course did not believe in such things and attributed it to his drunkenness however a series of very unfortunate and odd events starts to happen to him. This short story is available to read for free at Gutenberg.org

The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos Let's Call It a Doomsday by Katie Henry Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns

My husband is not a book reader but he does know my taste in books and he loves good movies so those were his criteria for selecting these books for me. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier This is a very popular gothic mystery which I did attempt to pick up a few times but haven't really committed to read but this challenge will surely motivated me more. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris This was successfully adapted into a film that I watched snippets of when I was a kid and have no interest reading or watching since then because I'm terrified of the character, Hannibal. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane The film adaptation won a ton of awards and my husband was choosing between this and Shutter Island. The Martian by Andy Weir My husband liked the movie and this was a very popular book that I contemplated on but a lot of reviews says this was sexist so I don't know if I'll enjoy it. Enemy Mine by Barry B Longyear This was his favourite movie when he was

It was a chilly November afternoon. I had just consummated an unusually hearty dinner, of which the dyspeptic truffe formed not the least important item, and was sitting alone in the dining-room with my feet upon the fender and at my elbow a small table which I had rolled up to the fire, and upon which were some apologies for dessert, with some miscellaneous bottles of wine, spirit, and liqueur. This is what I'm currently reading for my short story reading project 😊. Visit Hoarding Books Blog for other awesome first lines.

I'm embarking on an exciting reading project and I invite everyone to join me on this literary journey 😊. While I long to dedicate all my time to reading, my work schedule and my slower reading pace make it challenging. To overcome this, I've devised a plan to read one story per week until I complete the entire book. Each Saturday, I'll share a brief feature post discussing the short story I've finished. Let's dive into these captivating tales together and celebrate the joy of reading! My first pick is The Complete Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The Angel of the Odd (Aug 18 ~ Aug 24) The Assignation (Aug 25 ~ Aug 31) The Balloon Hoax (Sep 1 ~ Sep 7) Berenice (Sep 8 ~ Sep 14) Bon-Bon (Sep 15 ~ Sep 21) The Black Cat (Sep 22 ~ Sep 28) The Business Man (Sep 29 ~ Oct 5) The Cask of Amontillado (Oct 6 ~ Oct 12) Colloquy of Monos and Una (Oct 13 ~ Oct 19) Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (Oct 20 ~ Oct 26) A Descent Into the Maelström (Oct 27 ~

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo Dream Life by Lauren Mechling The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes What Happened That Night by Sandra Block Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

CUSTOMER: I read a book in the sixties. I don’t remember the author, or the title. But it was green, and it made me laugh. Do you know which one I mean? I realized the quote is more than one line but who’s complaining 😊. I also just got this book today. Thank you to Hoarding Books  for this awesome book meme!

I was able to complete three of the challenges. I wanted to complete the 7 challenges and obviously to read more but the other books that I picked up did not really did it for me, I wasn't enjoying them as much as I thought I will. So even though I got thru half of the other books I decided to not finish them and maybe pick them again if I'm in a better mood. On a positive note, I gave 4 stars to the three books that I have finished. Challenge 1. Purple Cover The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman Finished in 3 days. I'm really happy to finish Devouring Gray. Honestly I would not have read it if not for this readathon because I rarely enjoy Fantasy and YA nowadays. This reminded me of the kind of books that I read when I was younger and was really into YA Paranormal books, I would even say that this has similar elements to The Diviners by Libba Bray, however the latter has better character development and writing style. The phasing got better as you read on

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms The Lost Twin (Scarlet and Ivy, #1) by Sophie Cleverly The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

What are Summer Reads? For me, they are feel good books  that leaves a smile on my face after reading. The summer heat could be easily distracting and I may find myself wanting to take a dip in the water or falling into sleep so they must be light and fluffy, usually a contemporary with a dash of mystery, romance or magical realism. Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno The magical Fernweh women lived in the island for generations but this summer will bring about a change in their lives. Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn A book about words and the fight for freedom of expression told in the voice of a little girl, Ella Minnow Pea. The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato A scavenger hunt across Chicago to find a missing pop star. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman Nina prefers books to people but her life is about to change when she finds out the truth about her father and his side of the family not mention a romance that is brewing between her and her trivia ga