It’s time to play “guess that book” and also watch our TBRs weep.
Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and is all about the first line of a current/upcoming read. Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda’s Voice, where you turn to page 56 (or 56%) in what you’re reading a find a snippet that jumps out at you.
George Washington dreamed of being the first president with wooden teeth.
Albert Einstein dreamed of having fluffier hair than any other scientist in history.
Pepto Bismol dreamed of a world without diarrhea.
“Oh sure! You betcha!” says a chipper voice. “Address me! I’m standing right here!”
I turn. There is an actual elephant. In the room. It has a big, friendly grin plastered across its face.
Rex Dexter is itching to have a dog. He was practically born to have one. His name is Rex, for crying out loud. It’s a dog’s name. Any pooch is preferable, but a chocolate Labrador is the pinnacle. The best of the best. The dream of all dreams.
When Rex’s B-Day for Me-Day finally arrives, his parents surprise him with a box. A box with holes. A box with holes and adorable scratchy noises coming from inside. Could it be? Yes! It has to be! A . . . a . . .
Chicken?
Pet poultry?
How clucky.
One hour and fourteen minutes later, the chicken is dead (by a steamroller), Rex is cursed (by the Grim Reaper), and wild animals are haunting Rex’s room (hounding him for answers). Even his best friend Darvish is not going to believe this, and that kid believes everything.
Rex’s uninvited ghostly guests are a chatty, messy bunch. And they need Rex to solve their mysterious deadly departures from the Middling Falls Zoo before it happens again.
But how?
✿ Super funny humor that’ll have you laughing out loud!
✿ Cheeky, sarcastic protagonist with a fun voice.
✿ Reaper’s curse turned on its side.
✿ Death obviously has a sense of humor.
✿ Perfect middle grade voice that’ll appeal to all audiences.
✿ Highly relatable quest to get a dog.
This is a weekly meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook meant to take place on Mondays, but since Fridays tend to be my TBR-focused post, I’ve decided to combine them here. Next Monday’s prompt is: challenging read.
For me, a lot of my challenging reads have to do with size. I see a chunker of a book and I immediately start talking myself down from the reading ledge. I really need to get out of that habit, but here we are. So here’s five chunkers that I really need to get over my hesitation and go ahead and read!
I’ve heard really good things about Wanderers, but at 800 pages, my brain sort of short-circuits when I go to pick it up. I opted to buy the e-book of this one, because the idea of having to lug that around makes my arms hurt. Then again, now I have the problem of out of sight, out of mind!
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is actually my brother-in-law’s favorite book, which he takes the opportunity to remind me of at least once a month in the hopes that I will finally read the dang thing already. Obviously, he doesn’t know me very well. Another one I got the e-book for, because I really didn’t want to lug it around.
I got a copy of The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn last year when the sequel came out (which I also have an ARC of). You know, because I had so many good intentions of sitting down and knocking them both out back-to-back. This one’s slightly under 800 pages, and while I’m absolutely certain I’m going to love it, I have such a hard time getting over the page number barrier sometimes.
Soulkeeper is another one I’m almost certain I’m going to enjoy. At just over 700 pages, it’s shorter than the others … some. Also, it has dragons. If that’s not a tally in the “pro” column, I’m not sure what is. Book three actually comes out soon, so I might try to kick it into gear and get through this series.
The absolutely silliest book on this list is The Way of Kings, which I know, 100%, without a doubt, that I will absolutely love and be dying to read the rest of the series. But 1,000 pages?! I’m sorry? Yes, they’re 1,000 Sanderson pages, which go almost in the blink of an eye … but before that, I have plenty of time to consider just how long it’s going to take me to get through that many pages and how many other books I could read in the meantime!
What are the first lines of whatever you’re reading this week?
Oh my gosh! The Dead Pets book seems like so much fun!!! I love how you share it. Very clever indeed!
I’ve read about 60% of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel and then gave up… Maybe I’ll try it again at a later stage.
Have a good weekend!
Elza Reads
Thank you! I’ve heard mixed things about it. My brother-in-law loves it, so I’m required to try it, at the very least. xD
Hilarious excerpts! Thanks for sharing, and here’s mine: “BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED”
Laurel-Rain Snow recently posted…AUTHOR’S HOME PAGE
I love how you present this. And I was really surprised when I clicked on the cover!! My post is here https://francebooktours.com/2021/01/22/loving-modigliani-friday-56/
Thank you!
This seems like a fun story with a pretty unique premise. I like the quotes.
Breana M. recently posted…The Friday 56 (192) & Book Beginnings: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
It’s been super fun so far!
Great post Sammie! I loved the first lines, this MG looks so funny and a great reading experience! And I absolutely adore chunky books, so these are all going on my list! I hope you get to them soon, you can do it (and I know you’ll love them)!
Ellie recently posted…Down the TBR Hole #42
Thanks! It’s super funny and a nice, light read. I hope you love all these chunky books haha.
Dead Pets looks like a fun choice for the Middle School kids in my life!
I think they’d really like it! I’m trying to talk my own offspring into reading it, haha!
Very funny quotes. I am glad you are laughing out loud. That is the best. My book this week is titled Kent State
Anne@HeadFullofBooks recently posted…Review and quotes: KENT STATE
It’s definitely nice to have some funny reads in between the darker ones!
Dead. Pepto Bismal dreamed of a world without diarrhea. LOL.
Happy weekend!
Freda Mans-Labianca recently posted…The #Friday56 & #Instagram56
That’s just how the book *starts*. There’s fabulous quotes all throughout it, honestly.
That was so much fun to read. Great excerpts.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Linda Moore recently posted…Book Blogger Hop – 1/22 – 1/28
The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter sound really really amazing based on both the snippet and the beginning. Got to read that soon!
And I agree with being intimidated by the big chunky books 😅 Hopefully some day I’ll stop getting scared by them.
Have a great weekend! 💖💕
I definitely recommend it! I really enjoyed the book, and I can’t wait for the sequel now.
Well this sounds intriguing! It seems like it has a lot of humor to it too. Great pick!
Lisa @ waytoofantasy recently posted…Anti-TBR Tag!
It’s super funny! Had me cracking up the whole time.
This sounds like a fun book.
It definitely was! Great way to break up darker reads.
Those snippets are hilarious! This book sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂
It was a ton of fun! I laughed the entire time.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is one of my favorites too. The audiobook production is outstanding. Plus, the tv miniseries adaptation is brilliant in its own right!
Glad to hear you also enjoyed that! I tried to watch the miniseries one night, but wasn’t in the mood for it. I hope to go back and try it later when I have a little more patience for it.
Just from that opening it sounds like a hilarious book!
I sometimes find chunksters intimidating too and admit sometimes page count can detour me from choosing a longer book to read at any given time. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the only one of the five you listed–and it really is good. It’s one of my husband’s favorite books.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Was definitely super funny! It cracked me up.
Glad to hear you enjoy it! I’m really feeling like I should just get over my hesitation and pick it up already. xD