Tuesday, March 04, 2014

First Paragraph, Tuesday Teaser -- My Wish List


Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
I'll be reviewing this book for FranceBookTours on March 19. I've already finished My Wish List by Gregoire Delacourt, but wanted to share the intro with you.
We're always telling ourselves lies.
For instance, I know I'm not pretty. I don't have blue eyes, the kind in which men gaze at their own reflection, eyes in which they want to drown so that I'll dive in to rescue them. I don't have the figure of a model,  I'm more the cuddly sort -- well...plump. The sort who takes up a seat and a half. A man of medium height won't be able to get his arms all the way around me. I don't move with the grace of a woman to whom men whisper sweet nothings, punctuated by sights...no, not me. I get brief forthright comments. The bare bones of desire, nothing to embellish them, no comfortable padding. 
Delacourt, of course, wrote this little novel in French and it was translated into English by Anthea Bell. I love the cover too. The tag line at the bottom asks: "If you won the lottery would you trade your life for the life of your dreams?" Jocelyne runs a shop full of sewing notions. She has a husband and two grown children until one day she plays the lottery.

Also this week  is Teaser Tuesdays. Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Open to a random page of your current read  and share a teaser sentence from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.
Here's a teaser from 16%:
I haven't gone dancing since that thirteenth birthday of mine, when I danced to "Indian Summer" with my budding breasts.
 Hope your reading something you love.

9 comments:

Catherine @ Book Club Librarian said...

While I like the book's premise, I'm a bit put off by a male author writing in a female voice about a woman's lack of beauty in the introduction,

Harvee said...

Sounds like a good story. I'd read on.
Harvee
Book Dilettante

Unknown said...

I'm interested in seeing where this book is going. I hope you enjoy it. I think the cover's great, too!

Faith Hope and Cherrytea said...

I like the sound of Delacourt's =)
enjoy your reading!

Sarah (Sarah's Book Shelves) said...

I'd never heard of this one before, but I loved the opening paragraph and the tagline!
Here's Mine: http://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/memoirs/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday-intros-shadows-sun-gayathri-ramprasad/

Nise' said...

I am intrigued and look forward to your thoughts.

Sandra Nachlinger said...

I've heard of this book and been curious about it. Guess I'd better go over to Amazon, take a peek inside the cover, and read some reviews!
My Teaser is from SPARE CHANGE.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Pretty cover and an intro that makes me want to read more.

Unknown said...

Yes, I would continue reading, both the synopsis and the opening. I wasn't initially taken with the cover, but the connection with the sewing shop explains it. My post is here

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