Book Beginning: The Girl from the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan

The Friday 56: *Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader. Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. Post it. Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.
Also, visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

The Girl From the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan, published August 18, 2015 by Ecco.
Genre: literary fiction, historical fiction
Book beginning, Chapter One:

In the outskirts of Los Angeles, in the sprawl of suburban homes that sit in the lap of dry, gold hills, there is a garden. In the warmth of last summer evenings, the perfumes of honeysuckles and jasmines in this garden are maddening. Earthen pots of cosmos and geraniums surround the yard. Near the back wall grows a pomegranate tree. A fig tree fruits in the late summer, the grape arbor hides her clusters in among the leaves, the boughs of the apple tree nearly touch the soil in autumn, and the orange tree, soaking beneath the Southern California sun, provides year-round. Mint vines creep to cover the grounds, and nasturtiums explode in blossom. This garden belongs to an elderly woman. Her name is Mahboubeh Malacouti. Her first name means "the most beloved." Her last name means "of the heavenly."

Book description:
"A debut novel in which a crisis of inheritance leads to the downfall of a wealthy family of Persian Jews in early twentieth-century Iran.

Asher Malacouti—the head of a prosperous Jewish family in the Iranian town of Kermanshah—cannot have the one thing he desires above all: a son. His young wife, Rakhel, is made desperate by her failure to conceive, and grows jealous and vindictive....
Asher makes a fateful choice that will drive Rakhel to dark extremes to preserve her status within the family.

Witnessed through the memories of the family's sole surviving daughter, Mahboubeh, now an elderly woman living in Los Angeles, The Girl from the Garden unfolds the tragic history of the Malacouti family in a long-lost Iran of generations past. Inspired by the author's own family, it is an exploration of sacrifice, betrayal, and the legacy of the families that forge us." (goodreads)

Page 56: 

Mahboubeh had no one to run to, no one to protect her from Rakhel's anger and spite.

I find it intriguing that the story is based on the author's memories of her own family and am looking forward to reading this.

Waiting on Wednesday: Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel, expected publication September 1, 2015; Berkley
Genre: mystery

"At Wind River Reservation, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O’Malley investigate a mystery overshadowed by a mythological miracle…

A mysterious penitent confesses to murder, and then flees the confessional. Two months later, rancher Dennis Carey is shot dead along Blue Sky Highway. With the tragic news comes an astonishing secret: the most sacred creature in Native American mythology, a white buffalo calf, was recently born on Carey’s ranch.

The miraculous animal draws pilgrims to the reservation, frustrating Vicky and Father John as they try to unravel Carey’s murder and the disappearances of three cowboys from his ranch.

It could be coincidence, but Vicky doesn’t believe in coincidences. And at the back of Father John’s mind is the voice from the man in the confessional. "(goodreads)

What novel are you waiting for to be published? 

First Chapter: THE PARIS KEY by Juliet Blackwell

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn.

The Paris Key: A Novel by Juliet Blackwell, to be published September 1, 2015 by NAL

First paragraph, first chapter:

Her uncle Dave always used to say, "Remember the locksmiths' code, Genevieve. Never reveal the secrets you find behind locked doors, and never - ever! - abuse the power to open a lock." 

Book description: An American in Paris navigates her family’s secret past and unlocks her own future, in this evocative novel by Juliet Blackwell. Genevieve Martin spent the happiest summer of her life in Paris, learning the delicate art of locksmithing at her uncle’s side. But since then, back in the States, she has been holding herself back from those around her, including her soon-to-be-ex-husband.

Faced with an incredible opportunity to return to Paris to take over her late uncle’s shop,  she realizes the city also holds secrets about her family that could change her forever.

Based on the first paragraph, would you keep reading?

Winner of Life in New York

Life in New York: How I Learned to Love Squeegee Men, Token Stickers, Trash Twisters, and Subway Sharks, nonfiction by Laura Pedersen, published Jul 28, 2015; Fulcrum Publishing

The winner of the giveaway contest, chosen by Randomizer, is Sharon Berger. An email has been sent out.  Thanks to all who entered.

Sunday Salon: Shakespeare, Alternate History, and Baseball Verses

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit Mailbox Monday.

A few new books in diverse genres to share:

The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson, to be released October 6, 2015 by Hogarth
One of Shakespeare's final plays, "The Winter's Tale" is the story of newfound love, treacherous jealousy, revenge, regret, and ultimately, redemption. Award-winning author Jeanette Winterson will introduce this classic in a new and unique way, in the first installment of Hogarth's historic Shakespeare series. (goodreads)

The British Lion: A Novel by Tony Schumacher, to be released October 27, 2015 by William Morrow.
In this alternate history thriller set in the years after World War II, the victorious Germans now occupy a defeated Great Britain. London detective John Rossett joins forces with his Nazi boss to save the commander’s kidnapped daughter as the Germans race to make the first atomic bomb.
Rossett must secretly find Ruth Hartz, a Jewish scientist working in Cambridge. Spared from death because of her intellect and expertise, she is forced to work on developing the atom bomb for Germany.  (goodreads)

Red Sox Rhymes: Verses and Curses by Dick Flavin,  published July 14, 2015; William Morrow.
From the voice of Fenway Park comes a collection of sixty-four humorous and nostalgic poems celebrating the Boston Red Sox.

Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe, to be published September 1, 2015; Touchstone
Francesca 'Frankie' Caputo is finally going to marry the man she loves. But when a freak accident cuts her fiancé Alex's life tragically short, Frankie flees from her overbearing Italian-American family to an abandoned cabin in a remote part of Washington forest. As her heart slowly begins to heal, Frankie discovers a freedom that's both exhilarating and unsettling.

So when her old life comes crashing back in, Frankie must decide: will she slip quietly back into her safe, former existence? Or will a stronger, wiser Frankie Caputo stand up and claim her new life?

What's on your reading desk this week?

A Pattern of Lies by Charles Todd: Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

A Pattern of Lies: A Bess Crawford Mystery #7 by Charles Todd, to be released August 18, 2015; William Morrow
Genre: historical mystery

An explosion and fire at the Ashton Gunpowder Mill in Kent has killed over a hundred men. It’s called an appalling tragedy—until suspicion and rumor raise the specter of murder. While visiting the Ashton family, Bess Crawford finds herself caught up in a venomous show of hostility that doesn’t stop with Philip Ashton’s arrest. Indeed, someone is out for blood, and the household is all but under siege. 
The only known witness to the tragedy is now at the Front in France. Bess is asked to find him.(goodreads)

I have read several of the Bess Crawford mysteries and am looking forward to this one.

What new release are you waiting for?

Book Review: LIFE IN NEW YORK by Laura Pedersen

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn.

Life in New York: How I Learned to Love Squeegee Men, Token Stickers, Trash Twisters, and Subway Sharks, nonfiction by Laura Pedersen, published Jul 28, 2015; Fulcrum Publishing

First paragraph, Chapter One:

As my bus lurched toward the Lincoln Tunnel a sign proclaimed: NO TRUCKS OVER 12' 6". Underneath, in equally large letters, was painted, WE MEAN IT! Obviously I was entering a reckless, self-destructive society that couldn't or, more likely, wouldn't follow the kind of simple direction I'd learned in kindergarten.... After the Lincoln Tunnel sign I was half expecting a troll to ask me a riddle before I was allowed to enter the Big Bad City.

Teasers: There are a ton of great sentences that describe Laura Pedersen's take on New York City. First of all, I noted that NYC is not just the island of Manhattan but describes some five boroughs that includes the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Here are some notable and interesting, to me, observations that Pedersen makes:

New York is the number-one tourist destination in the United States. 

Most city residents live in small, cramped apartments....(I)t's not uncommon to live with roommates well into your forties.  

Solitude is rare and considered a luxury....people must often go out on the street with their cell phones to get some privacy. 

You determine where to live in Manhattan, not based on income but on age. 

To promote desegregation, both racial and economic. Kids take subways and buses all over the five boroughs, traversing back and forth to school every day. 

New Yorkers tend to have pets instead of kids. 

The one constant throughout New York City's history has been its ability to change, adapt, and reinvent itself.

And one fact that I especially appreciated about NYC: the drinking water is clean and free. But I'd miss the chance to have solitude, every day and often...There is so much more that Pedersen discusses in her book: the founding and history of NYC, the present subway system, the cultural life, humidity and allergies in the summers, the neighborhoods, the variety of foods and people, and more.

I loved this book. It's informative, current, and humorous. Not at all a dry history or travel book. It's one to read if you are thinking of moving to NYC or just visiting there.

Enter the GIVEAWAY, courtesy of the publicist/publisher, now through August 17, 2015. The contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. Email me at harvee44@yahoo.com with the heading New York Giveaway. A winner will be notified by email on Aug. 18 and asked for a mailing address. Good luck! UPDATE: The winner was Sharon Berger!