Tuesday, January 5, 2010

TEASER TUESDAY WITH A TWIST: A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

  • Since this is a history blog I'll do just that except with a twist or two. I'll quote from a history book that fascinates me and, since I'm fascinated, I won't limit myself to 2 sentences. And quite frankly, since this is supposed to be a teaser, I'll probably dish up something I really like instead of something totally random. (Really twisted I know!)

    I've just begun reading a biography (oops! - make that a novel ) of Emily Dickinson. So, let's see what random words I can find therein.
    "He holds us in a viselike grip, tells us to appreciate fine books but not to read them, to think for ourselves but to follow his rules. He wants his daughters to get an education but not to use it. He treasures his family but is seldom at home. He wants us to think of him only but can't be found; has a sense of humor but rarely smiles; wants to be loved but will not admit it." (p. 206)

    Wow! I could learn a thing or do about creating characters from that paragraph!

    I'm just getting started in this book but I cheated and looked ahead to the author's note at the end and I'm enthralled. I'll come back to the author's note another day though.

    4 comments:

    1. "I guess if I go you won't miss the crying or me either. But they did miss the crying--everyone missed that wonderful, bawling baby and the dear, dimwitted daughter who had taken it away." Elizabeth George quoting John Irving from Cider House Rules(p. 138 Write Away)

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    2. "The more honest-and unflappable- a person is, the better your case begins to look. Today, Sean O'Keefe was being deposed, and it scared me to death."

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    3. P.S. Handle with care by Jodi Picoult

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    4. Thanks, Yolanda and Amy for adding your own teasers!! That's the spirit!

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