Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.
Today I’m spotlighting one of my Vine review books: Cambridge, by Susanna Kaysen.
I am coming in late today, but I couldn’t resist posting anyway.
Intro: It was probably because I was so often taken away from Cambridge when I was young that I loved it as much as I did. I fell in love with the city, the way you fall in love with a person, and suffered during the many separations I endured.
In the summer before our October departure for England, the screen door to the backyard broke and had to be replaced. The new door had a hydraulic canister that hissed when it opened or closed instead of smacking, thump, thump, the way the old door had. I didn’t like this. Neither did my cat, Pinch. Cats and children are conservative. Pinch would use the new door to go out of the house, but she refused to come in through it, and she’d sit by the front door waiting for someone to notice that she’d decided it was time to come home. After three weeks in England, I felt the same way: Okay, let’s go home now. It’s time to go home. But my parents, looking out their new, hydraulic door in England, didn’t notice me, and, like Pinch, I had to sit there hoping and hoping.
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Teaser: (In Greece) My mother was as chic as her cigarettes. This had happened in Italy, too. She was a chameleon. She took on the prevailing look. (p. 184).
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Blurb: “It was probably because I was so often taken away from Cambridge when I was young that I loved it as much as I did . . .”
So begins this novel-from-life by the best-selling author of Girl, Interrupted, an exploration of memory and nostalgia set in the 1950s among the academics and artists of Cambridge, Massachusetts.London, Florence, Athens: Susanna, the precocious narrator of Cambridge, would rather be home than in any of these places. Uprooted from the streets around Harvard Square, she feels lost and excluded in all the locations to which her father’s career takes the family. She comes home with relief—but soon enough wonders if outsiderness may be her permanent condition.
Written with a sharp eye for the pretensions—and charms—of the intellectual classes, Cambridge captures the mores of an era now past, the ordinary lives of extraordinary people in a singular part of America, and the delights, fears, and longings of childhood.
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What do you think? Nostalgic? Do these excerpts bring back memories for you?
I love this kind of book so it’s instantly appealing…not sure about nostalgia, though…once I was reading it I might feel the nostalgia….
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Thanks for stopping by, Patty. I love the cover on this book, and even though I’ve never been in Cambridge (just Boston!), many books and movies have taken me there, and I want to return, just like the character.
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I like the narrators voice and the image of the cat outside the door. My teasers this week are from United We Spy by Ally Carter and Killing Floor by Lee Child. Happy reading!
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Yes, I liked the cat’s presence, too, Kathy…I’m eager to read this one. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your books.
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Beautiful cover and interesting sounding book 🙂
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I love the cover, too, Cleopatra…and I imagine going to that city. Beautiful in the fall (I went to Boston in the fall once and fell in love!).
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your books.
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I’d give it a go, enjoy your book. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
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Thanks, Kelley…I am eager to see what happens….enjoy your reading!
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Love the cover and the intro!
Here is my intro post!
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Thanks, gautami…I was quite caught up in it, too. Enjoy your book!
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Irresistible – love the cover and voice! Enjoy.
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I agree, JoAnn. Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your book!
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It’s nice if she knew she could always go back to those places. Some of us feel we can never go home again…, lol.
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Alas, I am one of those, Harvee! LOL
But that kind of homesickness does sound appealing, doesn’t it? Thanks for stopping by.
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Sounds good. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad you could stop by, Linda…enjoy your book!
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This sounds good. The cover alone would have my interest.
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I love that cover, too, Yvonne. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your reading.
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Generally I’d think it’s a good thing to take on the prevailing look. But does anyone really want a chic mother?
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Ha-ha…No, probably not. Thanks for visiting, Alice Audrey, and enjoy your reading.
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This sounds like the kind of book I adore. Coincidentally, my Teaser today is from a young girl’s point of view too. Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment about my CAPE MAYBE post.
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Thanks for visiting here, Sandra, and I am eager to read Cape Maybe as well. Enjoy your week!
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I can remember that screen door! Love books that can bring back memories.
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Ah, yes, screen doors do make a mark on our memories. Thanks for visiting, Debbie, and enjoy your reading.
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Given the title and opening, the rest of the piece took me by surprise, and I found myself scanning for more on Cambridge itself.
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Yes, I think that I also find myself taken aback by openings. Thanks for visiting, Jane, and enjoy your week.
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Love the cat’s reaction being included. Thanks for visiting.
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Definitely! Thanks for visiting, Jo, and enjoy your reading.
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Sounds like she knows how to blend in!
Mine: http://storytreasury.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/3212/
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Definitely! Thanks for visiting, Sonia, and enjoy your reading.
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The intro grabs you right away!
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I think so, too, Nise…enjoy your reading, and thanks for stopping by.
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This sounds very good. I will keep my eye out for more about this book and look forward to you review.
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Glad you liked the excerpts, Pat…enjoy your reading, and thanks for visiting.
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The intro grabbed me, and I love that the cat’s name is Pinch!
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Oh, I like the cat’s name, too, Beth. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week.
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I have never heard of this one before, but it sounds pretty good! I love books that happen somewhere a little exotic:)
Happy reading.
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I hadn’t heard anything from this author since Girl Interrupted…hope to enjoy this one as much. Thanks for visiting, Lexxie…
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Sounds lovely! Really lovely!
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Thanks, Freda…I think so, too! Enjoy your week.
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An appealing intro. I wish the back door on my building had a hydraulic door–I get tired of listening to it slam with enough force to shake the entire building every ten minutes. Enjoy your reading! My teaser: Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost.
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Yes, or even worse, a screen door that doesn’t close completely and has to be pushed shut. Thanks for stopping by, Heather. Enjoy your book!
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There’s no such thing as being too late! I am glad you decided to post today. 🙂
I quite like this intro and, yes, it does bring back memories. Not of Cambridge, where I’ve never been, but of similar memories.
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Yes, I think we can all relate to what it’s like to miss a place. Thanks for visiting, Bookish Kitty…enjoy! And I guess it wasn’t too late after all!
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I love the coverart and the story sounds interesting. I would continue reading.
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Glad you liked it….I love the cover and blurb, too, and I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for visiting, Gigi Ann. Enjoy your book.
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The teaser has me intrigued about her mother – she could be a character!
Here’s mine: http://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/fiction/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday-intros-alice-forgot-liane-moriarty/
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Oh, yes, that “chic” Chameleon thing she has going on…thanks for visiting, Sarah, and enjoy your week.
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The opening paragraph was so touching. The author pulled me in right away. I want more.
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I like opening lines that pull me in, too; thanks for visiting, Margot, and enjoy your pick.
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I like the intro, you can tell she is a good story teller and I just love the name of that cat: Pinch! How cute is that. I have to remember that if I have to name a cat again.
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Yes, Pinch sounds like a cat with personality. Thanks for stopping by, Peggy, and enjoy your week.
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That’s a great intro, and I actually wishlisted this one when I first read about it. I’d keep reading – thanks for joining us today.
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Glad I did finally join in today, Diane…and thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your read.
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A chic mother wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing. Not sure this book is for me, but I did like the writing style.
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Probably not, Shelley…I think teens especially don’t want a “chic” mother…lol. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your reading.
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This sounds really good. Thanks for letting me know about it. Here’s Mine
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I’m glad you could stop by, Paulita…and your book sounds wonderful. Enjoy!
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I liked those old screen doors, they do bring back great summer memories! Happy reading.
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You’re right, Nise…they are part of the sounds of summer! Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your read.
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All I can say is beautiful, poignant. Thanks for sharing and nice to meet ya. 🙂
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Yes, I agree, Mary…thanks for stopping by…and for following!
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